Park Janitor Finds Baby Girl Abandoned in Alley, Years Later She Has Whole City in Search of Him – Story of the Day

While sweeping the park one day, a janitor hears a sound coming from an alley and finds an abandoned baby crying in a stroller. He runs to her rescue and sends her away in safe hands, knowing little the entire city would be looking for him years later.

41-year-old park janitor Martin started his work pretty early that day. It was his late wife Alice's third death anniversary, so he planned to visit her grave that evening after his shift.

In his 15 years of service, Martin had never taken a day off for personal reasons due to his love for his job. He had no family after Alice's passing, and the only thing that kept him occupied and helped overcome his grief was his work.

Martin loved to watch children running and playing around. It comforted him and took him back to his childhood days when he grew up in a shelter for orphans.

Like he usually did, Martin grabbed the broom and started sweeping the park. He collected the dry leaves and rubble in a basket and walked away to dispose of them. That's when he heard a faint crying sound of a baby coming from a deserted alley behind him...

"What is that sound?" Martin wondered. He looked around to see if the joggers or those walking had a baby with them. But nobody had a stroller nor carried a child.

"I must be hearing things!" Martin shrugged it off and continued with his work. But he heard the baby's cries again. This time, it was louder and clearer. It was coming from an abandoned alley near the park.

Martin dropped the basket and immediately walked over to the spot to check. He saw a stroller there, and it was moving sideways. He peeped in and was startled.

"Jesus! It's a baby...who left her here?"

Martin scooped the baby up and looked around. He found a note in the stroller: "Whoever finds Little Lily, please take her somewhere safe."

Be kind to everyone you meet. They might be fighting a battle you know nothing about.

"Poor thing...how long have you been here?" He gently touched the baby's forehead and cheeks to check her temperature. She was cold and hungry. He hurried with the baby to the park's gate room to feed her some warm milk before calling the cops.

"Yes, sir, I found the baby in the alley. I came in early today and heard her crying...I found the baby in a stroller," Martin told the officers.

Several minutes later, two cops arrived and inspected the spot where Martin found the baby. "There are no CCTV cameras here, mister?"

"No, officer. There was one camera here, but it was damaged," said Martin.

The officers took the baby with them and tried looking for her parents but never found them. Martin was later told that Lily was given to the local shelter and placed for adoption. He started visiting the baby in the shelter daily after work and bought new clothes and food for her each time.

Martin was poor, but it brought joy to his heart whenever he was around little Lily. But that joy was short-lived after John and Rebecca, a couple from a neighboring city, expressed interest in adopting Lily. Martin was happy for the baby, but it pricked his heart when he realized he would never see Lily again.

The couple fell in love with little Lily at first sight. They prepared the paperwork and legally adopted her six months later.

"Please take care of baby Lily. When she grows up, please tell her about me. Please tell her that I will always remember and love her," Martin told the couple, bidding a tearful goodbye to Lily when they took her. John and Rebecca were moved by Martin's love for the little girl and promised to tell her everything once she was older.

Years passed, but Lily was never told much about Martin. Her parents were carried away in raising her and had forgotten about the kind man who helped their daughter get a new life. But one day, John felt the urge to confess the truth when he found his daughter ridiculing a poor janitor in her school.

"Are your eyes at the back of your head? Did you forget to put the caution board on the wet floor? I almost slipped!" 14-year-old Lily told off a cleaner in her school.

Her dad John was with her, and he was upset about her behavior.

"Lily, that's not how you talk to your elders. Apologize to him."

"But dad...it's his fault!"

"Lily, it's your fault. You didn't see the board. Say sorry to him."

But Lily wouldn't obey him. She frowned and ran to their car and waited for John there.

"That's not how you behave towards elders," he said again, but Lily wouldn't give in. She kept grinning and argued her point.

"But dad, he's, after all, a janitor! He must know his job!"

At this point, John lost his cool. "Sweetie, never look down upon someone because of their job. We wouldn't have found you if we had looked down upon Martin that day!"

Lily was startled. "Dad, who's Martin??"

John pulled over as his heart started racing.

"Dad, please tell me. Who is Martin?"

John exhaled deeply and began: "Sweetie, Martin's a park janitor, and he found you abandoned in a stroller in the park."

Lily's eyes teared up as her father continued to tell her about the most significant part of her life she never knew. John and Rebecca had never told her she was adopted because they were waiting for the right time to confess it. They thought she would be hurt if she knew the truth.

"I'm sorry, honey. But we love you more than anything in this world. If it hadn't been for Martin that day, we would've never found you in the shelter we adopted you from."

Lily was shocked and burst into tears. "So I'm not really your daughter??"

"Darling, you are our daughter. It doesn't make a big difference that we are not your birth parents. We love you, and you know that. But we want you to respect everyone and not look down on people."

Lily felt sorry for her behavior. The next day, she apologized to the janitor in her school and told her parents that she wished to meet the kind man who found her at the park. So Lily's parents took her to the park to meet Martin, but he was no longer working there.

"Mom, dad, where did he go? We have to find him."

It turned out that Martin had quit his job many years ago, and nobody knew his whereabouts. But Lily and her parents wouldn't give up and set out on a mission to find Martin.

They searched for Martin everywhere, including on social media, but they never found him. They involved all their connections in the city to look for him. They knew nothing about him other than his name and his previous job as a janitor in the park.

The family kept looking for Martin day and night, but he was never found, until one day when a weird thought haunted John.

"Why didn't we think of this before? We still haven't checked the shelter!"

The family hurried to the shelter to look for Martin and were in for a sweet surprise. There they saw a man resembling Martin playing with the kids.

"Martin??" John called out, and the older man turned around.

"Yes! How may I help you?"

John and Rebecca brought Lily before Martin and smiled at him, tears welling in their eyes. "You recognize us??!"

Martin could not believe his eyes. "Is this Lily?!" he cried.

"Yes, Martin! She is the little Lily you gave us!" John replied.

Martin hugged the girl and cried like a child. He was so delighted to see her after so many years.

"Martin, we searched for you everywhere. They told us you quit your job in the park. What happened to you, and why are you here?"

Martin sighed heavily and said, "I worked in the park for some years, but I couldn't be peaceful or happy. While I was visiting Lily here, I was moved by the stories of the kids and how they ended up here, so I quit my job and have been volunteering here to help improve the children's lives. Some found new families and moved on. Some still live here and regard me as their family...as their father figure!"

Touched by Martin's kindness, John and Rebecca gestured for Lily to hand him the gift they'd brought him.

"Uncle Martin, this is for your kindness!" Lily said.

Her parents added, "Please accept it, Martin. We hope this will make your life better!"

Martin received an envelope and found a check for $20,000 inside. In addition, John offered to pay for his training as a caregiver.

Eventually, Martin got a new job as a caregiver in a nursing facility. Despite this turning point in his life, he still volunteered in the shelter and was always grateful to Lily and her parents for helping him accomplish his mission.

What can we learn from this story?

• Be kind to everyone you meet. They might be fighting a battle you know nothing about. When Martin found an abandoned baby, he did not leave her alone. He warmed her up and fed her before calling the cops. Despite not knowing much about the baby or who had abandoned her, Martin was kind to her.
• Cultivate the habit of being grateful for everyone who helps you. When Lily learned of Martin and his help when she was in the shelter, she decided to pay him back. She and her parents searched for him and rewarded him.

Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.

A sanitation worker struggling to raise his twin daughters alone finds a blind baby abandoned near a dumpster and adopts him, unprepared for their million-dollar future. Click here to read the full story.

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.