Teen Gives Up College & Works to Help Ill Mom, Gets All the Money for Her Treatment from Stranger — Story of the Day

A teen gives up her dreams to work as a cleaner to help her sick mother. One day, her life takes an unexpected turn, and she meets someone who not only funds her mother's treatment but goes the extra mile to make her dreams come true.

Alice was cleaning the cafeteria when the first customer walked in. She looked at the wall clock and began cleaning the tables quickly. It was ten minutes past the cafeteria's opening time, and she still hadn't finished her cleaning; not a good start to the day.

"Lincy," she whispered to the waitress on shift. "Could you please ask him to move to a different table? I'm yet to clean the table where he just sat."

"Hurry up, girl! You're running late on the first day of your job," Lincy reminded her.

"I only need two minutes. Please!"

"Alright, alright."

Alice was 18 years old and worked at the cafeteria in West Virginia to help support her sick mother, who was in the hospital awaiting an expensive surgery. Alice had never imagined that at her age, she would be working instead of attending college, but that's how life turned out for her.

Alice looked at him in shock. "What? Why would you do that for a stranger?"

When she was only five, her father abandoned her and her mother, Lydia. After he left, Lydia worked two jobs to support Alice and gave her both a mom's and dad's love. Lydia knew Alice aspired to be an illustrator, so she worked several shifts and saved money over the years to pay for her daughter's college fees.

Alice was a talented girl. She was accepted into her dream college, and everything was set. However, a month before she was due to go to college, Lydia suffered a stroke and was hospitalized. The medical bills were piling up, insurance wasn't enough to cover the treatment, and a surgery was necessary.

"Mom, I'll do it," Alice told Lydia. "I'll look for a job, and we'll get the surgery done."

"But Alice, your college…it starts in a month, honey. I don't want you to give it up for me. You've got your whole life ahead of you."

Alice gave her an encouraging smile. "When dad left us, mom, even you had your whole life ahead of you. But you sacrificed everything for me. You didn't go out on dates, saved every penny you could, and provided me with the best education possible. It will be unfair if I leave you alone when you need me. I don't want to repeat what dad did."

That day, the mother and daughter hugged each other and cried for a long time, and in the end, Alice sacrificed her dreams for her mom.

"I'm done! Phew! I'll be back at 7 in the evening," Alice told Lincy when she was done with her morning shift. She took off her apron and hung it in the staff room, then collected her stuff, all set to leave.

Suddenly, she saw a pup under a table, looking at her with needy eyes. "Hey there, are you hungry?" Alice stopped and began petting the puppy.

"Wait a minute. I'll be right back."

She dashed to the kitchen and returned with some leftovers and water for the puppy. The hungry animal pounced on the food, and Alice was adorably watching him until a scream terrified the dog, and it ran under their only customer's table.

"What is a freakin' dog doing here? Did you not notice the 'no animals allowed' sign outside?"

Alice looked up and saw the restaurant manager, Mr. Hoffman. "You're the new girl, aren't you? You're fired! Get that dog outta here!"

Alice's eyes welled up. She needed money for Lydia's surgery. "Mr. Hoffman, look, that dog isn't mine. It's the customer's, and I was just…."

"So why were you feeding it with so much love? OUT now!! I don't want staff like you in here!" he yelled.

Alice ran outside in tears and sank onto the curb. "I'm sorry, mom, I messed up," she sobbed. "What am I going to do? How will I find another job?"

Alice had never felt so hopeless before. While she sat there crying, a man stopped beside her and offered her his handkerchief. "Girls shouldn't cry like this in public," he said.

"Leave me alone!" she told the stranger, irritated. "It's none of your business."

"Well, I just wanted to thank you for feeding my dog. Sam doesn't usually get along with strangers but seems to like you a lot."

Alice looked to her side and saw it was the customer from the cafeteria. His clothes were shabby, and he smelled terrible, but he had a generous smile. "Mind if I sit here?" he asked. The dog was hiding behind him.

Alice nodded, accepting the handkerchief. "This job was all I had to help my mom. I got fired on the first day! This feels horrible!"

"It's okay," he consoled her. "You'll figure it out."

"You don't know anything about me. How can you say that?" she snapped.

"Then how about you tell me something about yourself?" he said gently. "Maybe I can help?"

Something about the man told Alice she could confide in him. "I wanted to be an illustrator, and I was about to start college in a month when my mom got sick. I had to quit, and I'm working, well, was working to pay for her surgery."

"You draw illustrations?" he asked.

Alice showed him her previous work on her phone. "Since I was 10. It's my dream to become an illustrator."

"How much does the surgery cost?" he asked.

"A lot. And I have no clue how I'll do it."

"What if I told you I could pay for your mom's surgery and help you become a renowned illustrator?"

Alice looked at him in shock. "What? Why would you do that for a stranger?"

"Well, because I'm the best in the market for my comics. I'm always looking forward to working with great talents, and I loved your work. I don't want to brag about myself….I'm a little disappointed you don't know who I am."

"No way!" Alice felt like her heart would jump out of her chest. "Are you Henry M?"

"I hope it'll stay between us," he winked. "Not many people have seen me. I live a rather simple life, as you can see. They would never guess who I am."

Alice couldn't believe it. The best comics writer in her city offered to hire her and gave her an advance so she could get Lydia's surgery done.

Within one day, Alice's life turned around. She gladly accepted the offer and was able to pay for Lydia's surgery! After a year of working in Henry's office, she is now pursuing her much-desired course at her dream university. Little miracles happen around us every day, don't they?

What can we learn from this story?

• Children should be there for their parents. Alice didn't think twice before giving up her dreams to be there for Lydia.
• Little miracles happen around us every day. Alice never expected to land her dream job and get money for Lydia's treatment the same day. But it happened.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a poor teen who gave up his dream university to care for his sick grandmother and later became a 5-star hotel owner.

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.