Orphan Girl Shows Rich Man a Drawing of Her Granny, He’s Confused Seeing His Mother’s Image — Story of the Day

A rich man is stunned after he runs into an orphan girl who shows him a portrait of her granny. The woman in the image is his mother, and he wonders why the small girl referred to her as granny.

Derek Fisher had a difficult childhood. Growing up, he had seen his mother, Rita, work as a seamstress and how they had to make do with the little money they had. They could barely make ends meet so Rita made the tough decision of putting him in an orphanage run by the Catholics in their town.

After seeing poverty and hunger at its worst with his bare eyes, Derek knew he had to do something to change the fate of his family and pull himself out of the financial bottom. So at a very young age, he took up odd jobs to fund his education, and after leaving the orphanage, he enrolled at a community college and pursued business studies.

Derek's hard work paid off when he established his business years later. He gave it his all and built a prosperous firm. However, Derek never forgot the sacrifices Rita had made for him, and he looked after her in her later years just as she had done in his early ones.

One year, while visiting his mother, Derek decided to drop by the orphanage where he was raised as a teen. He would often send books, toys, new clothes, and plenty of gifts to the children through the postal service as he was always swamped with his business, but this time he chose to go personally.

"She had promised she would meet me soon, but she never came. I want to go back to Gran! I miss her…."

As his driver parked the car outside the Sunshine Care Home, Derek smiled, recalling how he had once stood on its doorstep with nothing except a few cents in his pocket that Rita had given him.

She had apologized to him, saying, "I am sorry, honey. Your mother cannot look after you, but she wishes you a happy life. I hope you forgive your mother for this!"

Derek was 12 years old then, but he understood why his mother had to leave him there.

As he entered the dingy, crumbling building, the orphanage caretaker, Sister Julie, greeted him. "Oh, Derek! It's you! Look at you, handsome man! We never thought we'd see you in person any time soon."

"How have you been, Sister Julie?" Derek asked, hugging her. "I've brought some toys and books for the kids, and I thought I'd meet them in person today."

"That's wonderful, darling! I will ask Sister Natasha to collect all the students in one room. We can—"

"Oh, that won't be necessary. I don't want to trouble the kids; I'll just take a tour around the place."

"As you wish. This way…."

As Derek toured the orphanage with Sister Julie, he could see that it hadn't changed much. He made a mental note to get the old building repaired soon so the children could live more comfortably.

After touring the rooms, Derek made his way to the play area, and it was then that a little girl, who couldn't have been older than 6, came running up to him. "Oh! Dad! It's you!" she cried and hugged his waist with her tiny arms.

Sister Julie threw Derek an awkward glance, and he flushed. "I am not your dad, sweetie. You must be mistaken..." he said.

But the girl was adamant. "No, it's you, dad! I know! Gran told me!"

Derek laughed and knelt in front of her. "Oh, is that so? Do I really look like your dad? Then how about I meet your Gran someday? Maybe then she can tell you I am not your dad!"

Derek certainly didn't believe the girl and thought she had mistaken him for someone else, but then, the little girl hurried inside and returned with her art book and a picture.

"This is Gran!" she said, giving Derek a photograph and her drawing. "I drew Gran today! I'll give it to her when she comes to visit me!"

Derek's eyes widened as he stared at the portrait. "MOM? How is this possible?" He had no idea what was going on, and neither did Sister Julie. She'd known Rita was Derek's mother, but she'd never seen her meeting the children at the orphanage.

"Where did you find this picture, sweetie? What's your name?" Derek asked.

"I'm Alice. Gran Rita used to look after me when mommy got sick. She was always on her bed, sleeping, so Gran used to make food for me, and she would make me beautiful dresses.

"And then," Alice's eyes welled up. "Gran told me I had to come here because my mommy died. She promised she would come to see me soon, but she never came. I want to go back to Gran! I miss her..."

Completely confused by Alice's story, Derek decided to meet his mother and find out what was happening. When he arrived at Rita's house and told her about Alice, she started to cry.

"Oh, how is that little girl doing, Derek?" she asked. "It's been so long since I saw her. My arthritis has been bothering me lately. Otherwise, I would have gone to see her."

"Who is she, mom?" Derek asked, confused. "She kept calling me dad! I don't even know her!"

"Well, honey," said Rita. "It's not her fault. When Alice's mother was sick, I looked after her. She affectionately addressed me as Gran. One day, I was watching your interview on TV, and when she saw you, she said, 'Gran! He's your son! He's my dad!'

"I laughed and said, 'Yes, he is, Alice.' Perhaps that's why she called you dad. She is a motherless child, Derek. Her father wasn't a good man. He left Alice and his wife to fend for themselves.

"After her mother's death, those people from CPS sent Alice to an orphanage. Alice and her mother used to live in the house across the street. Oh, I wish I could see Alice again!"

When Derek learned about Alice's story, he felt terrible for her. Her childhood, in a way, wasn't much different from his. She was forced to live a life without a family, and so was he when he was young.

So Derek made up his mind. He decided to adopt Alice and give her a good life. He approached the orphanage and began the paperwork.

Since the orphanage was well acquainted with Derek and he had a clean background, the documents didn't take long to be completed. Alice was finally home with her Gran Rita and dad Derek, who she already loved so much.

What can we learn from this story?

• Every child deserves a happy childhood. Having spent a miserable childhood, Derek knew how it felt to grow up without love. He didn't want Alice to go through the same and adopted her.
• We don't choose our family. They are God's gift to us. While Alice was born to her mother and terrible father, God had another family planned for her. When she finally became a part of that family, she was very happy.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a mother who gave up her daughter to an orphanage because she was a carbon copy of her husband.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.