Mom Is Sure She Buried Son a Year Ago, Finds Him Living at Deserted Gas Station — Story of the Day

After losing her son in an accident, a grieving woman cried whenever she entered his bedroom. One day, her neighbor claimed she saw the young boy. "That's impossible!" the mother said, but she took her words back a few moments later when the neighbor showed her evidence.

Melissa worked as a weaver in a local factory. After her husband's death, the single mother had to work hard to make ends meet. Her only child, David, depended on her, and the woman wanted nothing but the best for him.

She worked day and night, and David's dream of becoming a pilot motivated her to work harder. When he was three years old, his father gifted him a model airplane that later became his favorite toy. He would keep it with him wherever he went and was obsessed with it even after turning 18.

As David grew up, his passion for flying planes intensified. He worked hard to enroll in the best flying school in the country. He spent nights studying for the entrance exam, and weeks after taking the test, he received a letter.

"Mom! Mom!" he screamed after reading it. "I can finally become a pilot!"

Melissa was over the moon when she discovered that the flying school awarded David a scholarship based on his academic record. She felt happy to see her son's dreams turn into reality.

It was hard for Melissa to send her 19-year-old son to another state for his studies, but she did it for David's happiness. She hugged him before he sat in his car to drive all the way to the airbase.

"I'll miss you, Mom!" David said while hugging his mother tightly.

"Keep sending me photos and videos of yourself, okay?" Melissa rubbed her son's back and kissed him on the cheek.

"I will, Mom. Don't worry," he smiled at Melissa. "Take care!"

"What?" Melissa could feel her heart pounding inside her chest.

David had kept his favorite model airplane in his car because he felt motivated whenever he looked at it. After saying goodbye to Melissa, David pressed the gas pedal and left for his destination. He was excited to take his first training flight there.

Six hours later, Melissa's phone rang. She was sitting on the couch in her living room and instantly rose to her feet to fetch her phone because she expected it was a call from David.

However, she frowned upon looking at her phone's screen because it wasn't him.

"Hello. Am I speaking to David's mother?" an unknown woman on the other end enquired.

"Yes. This is David's mother," Melissa replied while trying to recognize the other woman's voice.

"Hello. I am speaking on behalf of your son's flying school. Earlier this evening, we learned about an unfortunate incident," the woman said apologetically.

"What incident?" Melissa interrupted. She felt her heart skip a beat.

"Your son, David, is no more. He passed away in a car accident while on his way to the air base. I'm so sorry for your loss," the woman said.

"What?" Melissa could feel her heart pounding inside her chest. "That's not possible. Look, woman, whoever you are, you need to get your facts right."

"I'm so sorry," the woman apologized again. "We will send a car to pick you up tonight while we make the funeral arrangements."

"But I just said goodbye to him this morning! I'll call him right now," Melissa shook her head and hung up.

Then, she dialed David's number, but it was unreachable. "Pick up! Pick up, David!" Melissa said while pressing her phone against her ear.

Soon, the devastated mother realized the woman who called her earlier was not lying. It was hard for her to believe that David was dead. Her only child, the light of her life, was no more.

Later that day, Melissa sat in the car sent by the flying school. Hours later, she wept while resting her head on her son's coffin.

"Why did you leave me so soon?" Melissa cried.

"What am I going to do without you?"

David's teacher consoled Melissa and told her how he learned about the accident. Then, the man took David's model airplane out of a bag and presented it to Melissa.

"We found this trapped under David's damaged car," the man said.

Melissa quickly grabbed the airplane from David's teacher and kissed it. She put it on her chest and closed her eyes before memories of her young son playing with the plane flashed before her eyes. Little did she know that this tiny airplane would soon change her life.

Melissa's world had turned upside down after David's unexpected demise. She couldn't bring herself to believe he was no more. She lived alone in her tiny house, and the emptiness made her question fate's plans.

"It's... it's David," Melissa gasped and covered her mouth with one hand.

A year after his death, Melissa was sitting on the couch in her living room, looking at her son's photo on her phone, when the doorbell interrupted her thoughts. When she opened the door, her neighbor, Mrs. Frank, was standing on the doorstep.

"Melissa! You won't believe this!" she slid her phone out of her pocket and frantically tapped her fingers on it.

"What happened? Is everything okay?" Melissa asked worriedly.

"Look at this!" Mrs. Frank turned her phone screen towards Melissa.

The grieving mother squinted her eyes and then took the phone in her hands to look at the photo closely. A few moments later, her eyes widened when she realized why the boy in the picture seemed so familiar.

"Melissa, I saw this boy at the gas station today. He resembles David so much! I almost thought it was him," Mrs. Frank exclaimed.

"It's... it's David," Melissa gasped and covered her mouth with one hand. Then, tears started rolling down her cheeks, and she felt her body shiver.

"Hey, Melissa? Are you alright?" Mrs. Frank held Melissa's arm and took her inside. "Please sit down."

Mrs. Frank offered her a glass of water, but Melissa shook her head and rose to her feet. "I need to see him now," she said and grabbed her car keys before leaving her house.

On her way to the gas station, hundreds of questions popped into Melissa's mind. What if I don't meet him? What if he's not there? What if that boy isn't my son? She wondered while trying her best not to crash her car. She was driving fast, hoping the boy wouldn't leave before she reached there.

After arriving at the gas station, she parked her car and hopped out. She looked everywhere, her eyes searching for her son, David. In the corner of the gas station, Melissa saw a boy sitting with his face away from her. It's David! She thought and ran towards him.

When Melissa put her hand on his shoulder, he looked at her and shrugged it off. "Who are you? Why are you touching me?" he yelled and turned towards her.

"I can't believe it's you, sweetheart!" Melissa cried. "Where have you been?"

"Excuse me? Do I know you?" the boy was puzzled.

"It's me," she smiled, slightly taken aback. "I'm your mom, David! I used to work as a weaver, remember?"

David shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Don't you remember your love for airplanes? You always wanted to become a pilot, and I worked so hard to fulfill your dream, honey," Melissa tried her best to remind David of his past life.

"I'm sorry, but I think you're mistaken!" David said. "My parents are alive, and I have lived with them since I was born. I don't know what passion you are referring to."

Before Melissa could ask him anything else, he stood up and left the gas station. Melissa was shocked because she couldn't understand why David didn't recognize her. Instead of heading back home, she decided to follow him.

David walked down the street and knocked on a house's door. A tall, bald man opened the door and asked David to come inside. Once he entered the house, Melissa got out of her car and secretly peeked inside the house.

"David! What happened to you?" she asked worriedly.

What she saw inside shocked her even more. David pulled out a stack of dollar bills and handed it to the unknown man. Meanwhile, the man smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"I know my son will never disappoint me! Thank you for working at the gas station and repairing it for me!" the man said.

"Anything for you, Dad!" David replied.

Before David could come out, Melissa rushed back to her car and drove away. Son? Dad? What's going on? she wondered. Then, Melissa thought of the right person to enquire about the unknown man. One of her friends who lived in the neighborhood was associated with the criminal investigation department. Melissa thought he could tell her about that man.

After talking to her friend, Melissa learned that the man David called his father was a cult leader. He made people work for him, took their money, and asked them to live on the streets. Melissa was sure the man had brainwashed her son into believing he was David's father.

"I need to report this man to the police!" Melissa told her friend.

"I don't think that would work, Melissa," her friend said. "This guy has registered his cult as a company, and the police can do nothing to retrieve your son."

After learning that there was nothing the authorities could do, Melissa decided to save her son on her own. Instead of reminding David about his past life, Melissa thought it would be better to become his friend first. She told him she wanted to join his cult and spent time with him at the gas station.

As days passed, Melissa bought him food, clothes, pillows, and a comfortable mattress. Soon, the young boy began to trust her and told her about his past life.

Melissa realized that the cult leader had brainwashed her son to believe he was a poor kid who needed to work hard to survive. He was living at the gas station to learn how to survive in difficult living conditions.

After working day and night to please the cult leader, David eventually fell sick. Since he had lived at his mother's house all his life, living at the gas station wasn't his cup of tea. When David asked his cult leader for medicine, he refused.

"We don't use chemicals. They're bad for your health," the cult leader told David.

The poor boy had no option but to accept what the cult leader told him. He wrapped his blanket around himself and rested on his mattress at the gas station, hoping he would resume work tomorrow.

However, before he could fall asleep, the cult leader approached him and asked him to move out. "You're not part of my team anymore. I want you to leave!" the man said.

David was shocked, but he had no idea why the cult leader kicked him out of the gas station. Since David had fallen sick, the evil man thought he was useless and decided to hire someone else to work for him.

"But I am sick... I can barely walk. Please let me stay for another day," David pleaded.

The cult leader pushed David out of the gas station and asked him to leave. "I don't want to see you around again!" he yelled.

Feeling helpless, David sat on the side of the road, shivering because his body temperature had suddenly become too high. His head spun, and his skin felt too hot to touch.

A few minutes later, a car stopped in front of him, and Melissa emerged from the driver's seat. "David! What happened to you?" she asked worriedly.

When she held his hand, she realized he had a high fever and needed immediate medical attention. "C'mon, get in the car! I'll take you to the hospital," she said.

The worried mother helped her son get in the passenger seat and drove him to the nearest hospital. On the way, Melissa asked him what had happened, but he didn't say a word. Instead, he stared at the model airplane on the dashboard.

"But I still can't recall everything, Mom," David replied.

While looking at the airplane, something clicked in his mind. A few memories from his past flashed before him, and he suddenly fell unconscious.

An hour later, David opened his eyes in the hospital room and heard Melissa singing a lullaby while sitting right beside his bed. "Mom?" he whispered.

Melissa burst into tears when she heard that one word from her son's mouth. Then, she asked him what had happened when he left home to visit the airbase a year ago.

David revealed that he met a homeless man on his way who also wanted to go to the same state to visit his family. David agreed to drop him there, but they never reached their destination.

On the way, David's car skidded and crashed into a truck. Luckily, David jumped out before the collision, but the homeless man died. When the first responders arrived at the accident site, they found David's documents inside and thought it was his body.

While the first responders took the homeless man away, David was lying in the nearby bushes. When he woke up, he couldn't remember anything. It turned out he had lost his memory after hitting his head on the ground while escaping from his car.

David mustered the courage to stand up and search for help. After walking a few miles, David reached the cult leader's neighborhood and knocked on his door, unaware that the man would soon brainwash him.

When the cult leader realized David had lost his memory, he pretended to be his father. Soon, David started believing that the cult leader was his father and did whatever he said.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through all this," Melissa hugged David.

"But I still can't recall everything, Mom," David replied. "I just remember that little airplane and your lullaby."

After the doctors assessed David's condition, they told Melissa that her son would eventually regain his memory. They asked her to take him home and show him his bedroom and the things he owned.

Weeks later, David regained his memory and embraced his long-lost passion for becoming a pilot. He pursued his interest in airplanes and became a professional pilot years later. Meanwhile, Melissa attended church meetings regularly because she felt grateful to God for her son's miraculous return.

What can we learn from this story?

• There's always light at the end of the tunnel. While Melissa thought there was nothing to look forward to after her son's demise, everything suddenly changed after Mrs. Frank saw David at the gas station. Melissa had no idea that her son was alive and that she would meet him one day.
• The truth always comes out. The cult leader tried his best to brainwash David, but his memory returned once he saw his favorite toy airplane and heard Melissa sing him a lullaby. The young boy finally learned the truth.

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If you enjoyed reading this story, you might like this one about a mother who spotted her late son's carbon copy at the cemetery.

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.