Hotel Visitor Gasped on Finding Baby with Note in His Suitcase – Story of the Day

A tourist looking for a good time gets a shock when he discovers an abandoned baby in his hotel room. His troubles only get bigger when he reads the note with the baby and discovers the child is his.

Sam walked straight to his hotel room window and smiled as he took in the view of the street outside. Although he'd traveled annually to Cuba for business for the past few years, every visit still excited him. Sam was a nobody back home, but everyone treated him like a king here.

Sam had a business meeting lined up for lunch the next day. That meant tonight was free for partying, and Sam knew all the best nightclubs in the area. The bartender offered him his first drink on the house when he arrived at his favorite club.

Sam danced and drank, and a few hours later, he returned to his hotel room with a beautiful woman on each arm. No woman back home ever admired and complimented him so much as these two did, and Sam was in heaven as he let them into his room.

Sam's delight faded when he turned on the light. Somebody had piled his clothes on the bed, and his suitcase lay on the floor. The suitcase was shut and jerked across the floor as if alive.

"Have you been robbed?" One of the women asked.

Sam was circling his suitcase. He gently kicked it and leaped back in fright when a child cried out. He quickly opened the suitcase and gasped when he saw a toddler curled up inside.

"This has got to be someone's idea of a joke," Sam muttered.

"Look, there's a note."

The blonde woman leaned over and unpinned a note from the child's shirt. Sam snatched it from her hands and opened it.

'I have worked as a maid in this hotel for many years so you should remember me, Sam. Two years ago, we had sex in this room, and I fell pregnant. I thought I could raise our daughter alone, but I was wrong. She deserves more than what I can give her, so I'm leaving her with you. Her name is Dunia; please take good care of her, Papa.'

"No freaking way!" Sam dropped the note and skidded backward, away from the child in his suitcase. He couldn't be a father! He didn't want to be a father. Coming to Cuba was the highlight of his year, a time to let loose and have fun...this was not fun!

The toddler reached out to Sam, fell over the edge of the suitcase, and burst into tears. Sam stared at her in shock while one of the women bent down to soothe the child.

"It's okay, little beauty, you're...phew!" The woman leaned back and flapped a hand in front of her face. "You are a stinky little lady! Something very bad has happened in that diaper."

"She needs to be changed." The second woman looked inside the suitcase. "There are no spare diapers here."

"I'll go get some," Sam said. He would do anything to get out of that room and away from the child, but the woman stopped him.

"You might not find diapers so easily in the stores here," she said. "I will take one of your shirts from the bed there and make a diaper for the child."

"My shirt?" Sam stared at the woman in horror.

"It will be fine, my sister has done this for her babies before." The woman smiled at him. “You may be lucky and find diapers at the store. You must also look for formula and baby food. We'll take care of the little one while you're out."

Sam exited the hotel in a daze. In one day, he'd gone from a man looking for a good time to a father...a father whose shirts were being used as diapers.

Sam woke the following day when Dunia started pulling his hair.

"Stop that!" Sam pried her chubby fingers off his hair. Immediately, Dunia's giggles turned to heartbroken sobs.

"I'm sorry, please stop crying." Sam pulled a funny face at the child. "Look, Dunia, don't I look silly?"

Dunia turned red in the face as she cried even harder than before. Tears poured down her chubby little cheeks. In desperation, Sam lifted her into his arms and started singing a nursery rhyme he'd learned as a child. Dunia's little fingers immediately went back into his hair.

Sam couldn't take this much longer. He set Dunia down on the bed and gave her a stuffed toy he'd found when he went shopping the evening before. Then he rushed downstairs to the front desk.

"Where is the maid with a toddler daughter called Dunia?" Sam demanded. "I need to see her immediately."

"Ah, Mr. Sam." The lady behind the desk grinned at him. "I'm not sure who you mean. We have several cleaners on staff—"

Sam pulled out his wallet and removed a few bills. "Maybe this will help you think."

"Okay, I think I can help you." The woman took the money from Sam's hand. "Alysa had a little girl...I think her name was Dunia." She held out her hand for more money. "Alysa doesn't work here anymore, but I might know what happened to her."

Sam clenched his jaw and gave the woman more money. "That's all I'm giving you, now tell me where Alysa is."

"She said she was going to the U.S. to become a designer. Her cousin lives in Tampa and promised to help her with immigration."

"She's left the country?" Panic washed over Sam. Returning the child to her mother would be more challenging than he thought. He pulled out his phone and was about to search for the next flight to Tampa when an alarm sounded on his phone. He'd forgotten about his business meeting!

"I need you to get me a babysitter and send them up to my room," Sam said as he rushed away.

Dunia was lying on the floor crying when Sam returned to his room. He lifted her and choked when he smelled her diaper.

"I don't have time for this!" Sam cried as he set Dunia down to change her diaper. "I don't even know what I'm doing."

Sam was late for his meeting. He returned to the hotel room in a terrible mood. After he paid the babysitter and saw her out, he lifted Dunia and looked into her eyes.

"You are going back to your mother, missy," Sam said. "I don't care if I have to pay child maintenance for the rest of my life, I can't look after you anymore."

Dunia babbled some nonsense and smiled at Sam. She was a cute kid, and part of him felt proud to have such a sweet daughter, but it was far too much work! Dunia would be way better off with her mother.

Sam put the supplies he'd bought for Dunia into a shopping bag and went downstairs. He’d paid the woman at reception even more money to find out the address for Alysa's sister in Tampa and had written it on a piece of paper. He pinned the paper to Dunia's shirt while the cab drove them to the airport.

"I'd like to buy a plane ticket to Tampa, Florida for my child."

Sam set Dunia down on the ticket counter. "Her mother is expecting her, and will pick her up at the airport," Sam lied.

The man behind the counter arched his eyebrows. "Sir, we can't allow a child this young to travel alone. If you'll give me your and your daughter's documents, and the consent form, I'll book tickets for both of you."

Sam cleared his throat. "Consent form?"

"Yes, sir," the man replied, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You cannot travel to the U.S. with your daughter unless you have a consent form signed by her mother giving you permission to do so."

Sam groaned. He just wanted this entire weird experience to be over now. As he'd done so many times before, Sam solved his problem by reaching for his wallet.

"I'm sure you can make an exception this once." Sam started peeling off peso notes from the stack in his wallet. "Like I said, her mother is waiting for her in Tampa, so—"

"Are you trying to bribe me, sir?" The ticket agent set his hands on his hips. "You expect me to break laws and risk my job for a few hundred peso? I'm calling security."

"No!"

Sam reached across the counter, but the ticket agent had already signaled the security guards. They seemed to appear out of nowhere, tough-looking men and women who pressed through the crowd. Sam panicked.

He lifted Dunia into his arms and ran. An alarm sounded somewhere overhead, and the guards shouted behind him, but Sam didn't stop. He sprinted through the airport and out onto the street.

Sam tried to return to his hotel room, but there was a police car parked outside, so he kept walking. He didn't know where to go, but his aimless wandering brought him to the beach just as the sun set.

Dunia had wailed for a while, but now she was asleep and felt heavy in his arms. Sam sat beside a low dune near one of the taverns lining the shore and set Dunia down on the sand beside him.

"This is all your fault," Sam muttered to the child. "If it wasn't for you..."

Sam put his head in his hands. It wasn't Dunia's fault her mother left her. He couldn't even blame Alysa now that he knew how difficult it was to care for a child alone. She'd said in her letter that she wanted a better life for herself and her child. Their child. Sam smoothed Dunia's hair off her forehead. What right did he have to criticize anyone after how he'd treated his daughter up to now?

"Sam, is that you?"

Sam looked up at the stocky man walking across the sand toward him. It took him a moment to recognize the man as the owner of one of the nearby taverns. "Jorge?"

"Of course." The man's grin faded when he noticed Dunia sleeping beside him. "What are you doing here with this child?"

Sam broke down and told Jorge everything. When he finished speaking, Jorge bent down and gently lifted Dunia into his arms.

"Come inside," Jorge said. "You have many troubles, Sam, but I can help you."

Jorge offered Sam a place to stay while he figured out what he wanted to do next. When Sam's money ran out a week later, Jorge offered him a job in his tavern.

Sam worked hard to provide for himself and Dunia. Several times he went to his local embassy to try to sort out the mess his life had become, but fear stopped him before he reached the entrance. He didn't know how much trouble he was in after the incident at the airport, and he was terrified the authorities would take Dunia away from him.

After that night on the beach, Sam realized he was responsible for taking care of Dunia. It didn't take long before he realized he loved his daughter. The thought of those first few days when he tried to get rid of her filled Sam with shame, and he was determined to make up for it.

Jorge was a rock for Sam during those first few weeks. Since Jorge had three children, he could show Sam how to care for Dunia. It was difficult, especially on the nights when Dunia didn't sleep well, but it all seemed worthwhile when she first looked up at Sam and called him 'papa.'

"That's right!" Sam grinned and lifted Dunia into his arms. "I'm Papa, and you, little Dunia, are the best thing that ever happened to me."

A few years later, Sam organized a small party to celebrate Dunia's birthday. He wasn't sure of the exact date but had estimated it was sometime in February. Sam bought a cake from a local pastry shop and decorated their home with streamers he made himself.

After breakfast, Sam put a blindfold on Dunia and led her down to the beach for a special surprise.

"Is it a dolphin?" Dunia asked as they walked. "Or a whale?"

Sam laughed. Dunia was already out of breath, so he lifted her onto his shoulders. "No, sweetheart, but I hope you'll like it very much."

Dunia squealed with excitement when she saw the jet ski Sam had loaned from Jorge. Sam slowly rode around with Dunia, but she insisted he go faster. He sped up and couldn't stop himself from smiling as he listened to his daughter's delighted shrieks as they skimmed over the water.

Sam decided to give Dunia one last treat as they headed in. He sped up the crest of a wave. He and Dunia hung in the air for a moment, but then they crashed down onto the water. Dunia's cry of delight was abruptly cut short as she thudded against his back.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Sam turned just in time to see his daughter fall off the back of the jet ski.

Sam dove into the water. He found Dunia and brought her to the surface, but she wasn't breathing.

"No, oh God, no." Sam clambered back onto the jet ski with his daughter. She lay limply in his arms as he raced back to shore.

The next few hours passed in a daze as Sam performed CPR on his daughter while waiting for the paramedics, held her limp hand in the back of the ambulance, and paced in the hospital hallway while the doctors treated Dunia.

He couldn't stop thinking about how cold and limp Dunia had felt in his arms. What if he'd been too late? What if Dunia was gone forever?

Sam sank into a chair and began to sob. A few minutes later, he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. The doctor who'd taken Dunia away to treat her was standing over him with a serious expression.

"Oh God, she's gone, isn't she?" Sam rose and gripped the lapels on the doctor's coat.

"I just wanted her to have a nice birthday. I never meant for this...I never meant to kill her."

"Your daughter is alive, sir," the doctor replied, "but her condition is very serious. During our examination, we discovered that your daughter has health issues affecting her lungs. This makes it difficult for her body to recover from today's incident."

Sam couldn't believe what he was hearing. He recalled all the times he'd heard Dunia coughing at night or seen her struggle to catch her breath during a game with the other kids in the neighborhood. He'd never thought something might be wrong with her, but now he cursed himself for ignoring those signs.

The more the doctor spoke, the bleaker Dunia's future seemed. She'd need regular oxygen treatments, lung function tests, and even regular intravenous therapy.

"Will this cure her?" Sam asked.

The doctor frowned. "Unfortunately not, but it will help her to live a normal life."

A life filled with medical treatments didn't seem normal to Sam, but at least she was alive. He listened carefully as the doctor outlined the details of Dunia's long-term care, but then the doctor told him the most terrifying part: the cost.

"I work in a tavern on the beach, doc. How can I afford this?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I can't answer that," the doctor replied.

A few days later, Sam brought Dunia home from the hospital. She was weak and needed to rest often but happy to be home. Sam made her favorite meal for dinner that night, then read her favorite bedtime story.

When Dunia was asleep, Sam stroked his fingers through her soft hair and wept. This situation was impossible, and it killed him that most of the problems he faced now were his fault. Cuban residents received free health care, but since he was in the country illegally and had no paperwork for Dunia, he was screwed.

"I'll have to get a second job," Sam muttered.

"Maybe Jorge knows someone who can help me."

Sam tiptoed outside so he wouldn't wake Dunia and phoned his friend. After a short conversation, Jorge promised he'd ask around about a second job for Sam.

When Sam reported for his shift the following day, Jorge was waiting with a smile.

"I have good news, my friend," Jorge said. "Someone I know is interested in hiring you."

Sam wore his best clothes to meet Jorge's friend a week later. The interview went well, and Sam returned home with a second job and new hope for the future. It all came crashing down when he spotted a familiar woman outside his home, a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Dunia.

"You!" Sam broke into a run. "I know you, you're—"

"Alysa, Dunia's mother." The woman lifted her chin. "I've come to fetch my daughter."

Sam stared at the woman in shock. It felt like forever wrapped itself into a single moment as he tried to process what she'd just said. Sam erupted in anger when it finally sank in that she intended to take his daughter.

"You're crazy!" he shouted. "Do you think you can just abandon your child and then come back here, five years later, and take her away from me?"

"I had no choice! I couldn't take care of her then, but I can now." Alysa jabbed her finger at Sam. "And you have no right to keep her away from me."

"You have no right to return here and pretend like you care!" Sam grabbed Alysa's arm and marched her away from his home.

Alysa left that day, but it soon became apparent she hadn't given up. Sam received a summons to appear in court soon afterward. He spent hours pacing his sitting room with the summons in his hand and thinking of ways to escape his situation.

The following day, he discussed the matter with Jorge and asked if he knew someone who could help him and Dunia disappear.

Jorge put his hands on Sam's shoulders.

"I've been happy to help you all of these years, and I truly consider you a friend, but I think it's time you stop running from your problems. It was hard for you when Dunia came into your life so suddenly. You made mistakes because you weren't thinking clearly, but this is your chance to do things the right way."

Sam sighed. "But I'm scared, Jorge. What if I lose and Alysa takes Dunia away?"

"Any court will see that you've done everything possible to raise Dunia well, Sam. Why are you scared to face up against a woman who abandoned this child when you've been such a good father?"

Sam smiled. "You're right, and once I'm awarded custody of Dunia, Alysa will have to give me her documents." A wave of happiness filled Sam's heart. "She'll be able to get free medical treatments then!"

Jorge smiled. "See? This is a blessing, Sam."

Sam walked into the courtroom full of confidence, but Alysa's lawyer quickly ripped it to shreds. Sam tried to remain stoic as the lawyer described his past as a womanizing tourist and told the court Sam had stayed in the country illegally for the past few years.

The lawyer even presented a police report for the time when he tried to buy Dunia a plane ticket to the U. S., but the worst was yet to come.

"How do you even know this is your child?" The lawyer asked Sam. "Did you have a DNA test done?"

Sam gaped at the lawyer. A DNA test? Somehow, it had never occurred to him Dunia might not be his child. Once he accepted responsibility for her, all doubt he'd previously had evaporated. Sam shook his head.

The judge immediately ordered a DNA test. When the session convened a few days later, the judge announced that Sam was not Dunia’s father. Sam stared at the judge, his mind blank as a wave of disbelief swept over him. Then he leaped from his seat.

"But I raised her!" Sam's lawyer had grabbed him, and he struggled to break free. "I've done everything for her these past five years, and they’ve been the best years of my life. She is my daughter because I love her, no matter what your DNA test says!"

"The law doesn't work that way, sir." The judge tapped her gavel. "I hereby award custody of the child to her mother. You, sir, will be arrested awaiting deportation."

"No, please!" Sam cried. "Let me just see her one more time!"

The judge agreed to let Sam say goodbye to Dunia. A police officer escorted him to the room where Dunia had been waiting with a court-appointed childminder. When Dunia found out she would be living with her mother, she burst into tears and went straight to Sam.

"Don't leave me, Papa," Dunia cried.

Sam lifted the little girl into his arms and held her close.

"I love you, sweet Dunia, and I don’t want to live without you in my life," he whispered.

Alysa stepped forward to take Dunia. The girl started crying, but soon her tears turned into breathless rasps. She stared into Sam’s eyes as she fought to breathe.

“Stop! She can’t breathe!” Sam screamed.

Alysa released her hold on Dunia, and Sam wrapped the girl in his arms. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he tried to help her. He heard someone calling for an ambulance as Dunia reached up and put her hand on his cheek.

“Papa’s here, sweetheart,” Sam whispered. He looked up at Alysa and said: “Please don’t do this. Don’t take her away from me.”

What can we learn from this story?

• It takes more than blood ties to be a good parent. Despite his initial reluctance and unwise decisions, Sam loved Dunia and did the best he could to give her a good life.
• Life choices don't always have a clear good or bad outcome. No matter how hard we try to do the right thing, some situations are too complex to foresee the best way forward.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a boy who gets on the wrong train and doesn't see his home again for twenty years.

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.