Teen Visits Same Coffee Shop Daily, Then Spots Barista Wearing His Missing Mom's Medallion – Story of the Day

15-year-old Steve visits the same coffee shop daily. During one such visit, he spots his missing mother's pendant on the barista's neck. Perplexed, Steve calls his stepfather, who behaves oddly.

It was a Saturday morning. Steve woke up late, relieved it was a weekend.

"Arnold, you home?" he called out as he exited the room, but his stepfather was nowhere to be seen.

Although they lived under the same roof, Arnold and Steve were not particularly close, and Steve preferred to address Arnold by his name.

Realizing Arnold was away at work, Steve entered the kitchen, hoping breakfast would be left out for him. But the kitchen counter was bare.

Arnold was a successful businessman, and working on weekends wasn't unusual for him.

Steve was in no mood to cook, so he returned to his room, slipped into his casuals, and headed to the coffee shop he visited daily.

A bell on the door chimed as he entered, and he was welcomed by a series of greetings as everyone at the eatery knew him.

"Hello, friend! Your cappuccino with banana milk coming right up!" The barista, Kevin, called out to Steve.

"Thanks, mate," Steve said and settled on one of the stools near the counter.

Kevin and Steve were more like friends, and while Steve was enjoying his coffee, they plunged into a discussion about last night's football match.

Suddenly, Steve's gaze traveled to the pendant around Kevin's neck. "Wait, where did you get that?" he blurted.

Kevin looked down at the pendant. "This?" he asked. "Bought it on a field trip. We had some hours to explore, and I found this little antique shop. Bought it there for only $100. Can you believe it? That's a steal for gold!"

"Kevin, that's my mom's!" Steve said. "I can assure you it's the same one! It went missing 12 years ago."

Steve's mother, Elsa, was a photographer. She often visited and photographed remote waterfalls, mountains, and lakes. Once, she visited a waterfall about 50 miles from their home. It was located deep within a forest. Elsa never returned from there.

The police only found her car and personal belongings near the waterfall. They eventually concluded she had fallen off a cliff, and her body must've been carried away by the stream. The case was closed, and Elsa was declared dead.

But Steve now saw a ray of hope that he could find her. He called Arnold and told him about the medallion.

"Are you sure it's hers?" Arnold asked.

"Yes, I'm sure, Arnold!"

"OK, meet me at home. I'm leaving now," Arnold replied and hung up.

As Steve arrived home with the locket, he went straight to the closet where Elsa's pictures were stashed. He took them out and began packing them in a bag. He would visit the town where Kevin had bought the medallion and find Elsa.

"Steve, what are you doing?" Arnold arrived home and was perplexed to see Steve packing.

"What do you mean? I'm going to find Mom!" Steve said.

"Steve, I don't think you'll find her! It's been 12 years. She's dead! And even if we assume she's alive, tell me why she never returned to us, huh?"

"That's what I'll find, Arnold!" Steve stopped packing and looked at his stepfather. "We never found her body, and I never believed she was dead! I'll ask her everything once I find her."

Steve went to his room and locked the door.

At night, Steve was heading to the kitchen to get some water when the voice from Arnold's room caught his attention.

Arnold was talking to someone on the phone. Steve pressed his ear against the door and tried to eavesdrop.

"What if she survived? Do you understand what will happen if Steve finds her? I'll be finished! OK, I'll call you tomorrow. Bye!"

Arnold's voice was low, but Steve clearly heard him. Forgetting he was thirsty, Steve returned to his room and dialed Jared, his friend.

"Hey, man, I need a favor," Steve said. "Tomorrow morning, I'm heading out of town. I can't explain right now, but it's important. I'm going to tell Arnold I'm staying with you to work on a school project. You got that?"

Jared agreed.

The next morning, Steve woke up early, quietly packed his things, and penned a note for Arnold.

"Arnold, I'm going to spend the night with Jared today. We're working on a school biology project, so I'll stay at his place. Don't worry about picking me up tomorrow. I'll get home on my own."

He placed the note on the kitchen table where Arnold could easily find it and left the house.

Steve knew Arnold was hiding something after hearing him talk on the phone. Steve went to a bus station and bought a ticket for the neighboring town.

Somewhere during the ride, his phone buzzed with calls from Arnold, but Steve didn't answer. Then, a text message from Arnold appeared in the notification bar:

"I went to see Jared! I know you're not at his house, Steve! Where are you going?"

Steve didn't answer. Instead, he called Kevin and asked for the address of the antique shop where Kevin had bought the locket. "Can you please text me the address?" Steve asked.

After what felt like an eternity, Steve finally arrived at the antique shop. Taking a deep breath, Steve approached the counter where an elderly salesman stood.

"Hello, sir," Steve said, holding out the locket. "Do you remember this? It was sold out from your store a few days ago?"

The salesman examined the locket closely and nodded. "Ah, yes! I've got a good memory for faces and items. It was bought by a guy with red hair on Thursday!"

"Do you remember who brought it here?"

The salesman paused. "I think it was three weeks ago," he said. "A woman brought it here. She was in a hurry. We bought it from her for $100. It was a nice piece, caught my eye immediately."

Steve's hands trembled as he retrieved Elsa's photo from his backpack. "Did the woman who sold you this locket look like her?" he asked, holding out Elsa's picture. "She'd be older now, about 12 to 15 years older than you see in the photo."

"Yes. I think it might be her," The salesman nodded.

Steve's eyes welled up, and he told the salesman everything about Elsa's disappearance and how he found the locket.

"I'm sorry about your mother, young man," said the salesman apologetically. "Now that I think about her…I think she was wearing a uniform, like a cleaner's uniform. It had an emblem on it, I remember. It was from one of the local cafes, 'Pizza-Time,' if I'm not mistaken. That place is not far from here."

The kind salesman gave the pizzeria's address to Steve, who was deeply grateful to the older man.

As Steve arrived at the pizza shop, he quickly approached the administrator at the counter. "Excuse me, I'm looking for someone who might work here. A cleaner named Elsa. Can I see her?"

"I'm sorry, lad. We don't have anybody by that name working here," the man replied.

Steve then showed him Elsa's photo, and the man paused, studying it momentarily. "Ah, yes. I now recognize her. She's Lucy. Right over there." The man pointed at a woman cleaning a table at the back of the pizzeria.

"Oh God…" Steve gasped, tears forming in his eyes as he looked at the woman. "MOM!" He couldn't hold himself back. He dashed to her, his arms wide open to embrace her. But the woman, taken aback, pushed him away.

"What are you doing, boy??"

"Mom, it's me, Steve! I'm your son!"

"Son?" The woman paused, her eyes darting to the floor as if trying to recall something.

"I don't remember if I have a son," she said. "I have had amnesia for 12 years. I don't recall anything before the moment I was found by a forester near a river."

"One second, Mom," Steve pulled out some photographs from his backpack—of a young Elsa holding a baby Steve, of them playing in the garden. Elsa's eyes teared up as she studied the pictures.

"Son!" she said and opened her arms. Steve hugged her immediately, and the relief and love he felt could not be described by mere words.

Suddenly, the cafe's door swung open, and Arnold walked in.

"Elsa! Where were you all these years?" he asked, approaching her.

"Mom has amnesia, Arnold. She doesn't remember anything."

"Now everything will be different!" Arnold said and hugged his wife and stepson. "Let's go home."

Steve suggested they go to the police first, but Arnold suggested it was better to visit the police in their town as those cops were handling the case.

They walked out of the pizzeria and got into Arnold's car. While on their way back home, Steve and Elsa sat in the backseat.

Elsa revealed that after being rescued by the forester, she was taken to a hospital. She had no ID or memory that could tell her who she was. So, she started a new life from scratch and worked odd jobs to support herself.

Steve patiently listened to Elsa. The moment that caused his heart to drop arrived when he noticed the gun tucked into Arnold's belt. Arnold had never been the type to carry a firearm. Why would he have one now?

Steve carefully glanced out the window and noticed that the route Arnold took differed from the one Steve had taken to get out of the city. Sensing something was off, Steve feigned discomfort. "Arnold, can we please stop at a bathroom? My stomach hurts really bad."

Arnold glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "Alright, we'll stop at the next gas station," he said flatly.

At the gas station, Steve rushed to the bathroom and dialed 911. "Urgent, please send a police patrol to the gas station on the north exit of the city! Urgent!" he whispered into the phone. He ended the call abruptly, thinking he heard someone enter the bathroom.

Steve returned to the car and told Arnold he might need to stop at a bathroom again. Arnold didn't buy his story this time. Instead, he ordered Steve to get in the passenger seat and Elsa to get behind the wheel while aiming the gun at them.

"I know you called the cops, moron," Arnold hissed as he slid into the backseat, still holding them at gunpoint. "Start driving, or I won't hesitate to fire this thing!"

"Why are you doing this?" Steve asked while Elsa drove the car. "What happened 12 years ago that you're ready to go to such lengths?"

"Your mother's inheritance! She got about a million dollars, and I asked her to give it to me to save my failing business. But she wanted to keep it for your future, Steve!" Arnold grumbled.

"Everything would've been fine if she didn't survive! She was supposed to die when I pushed her over the edge that day. Turn here," Arnold commanded Elsa, who flinched but obediently steered the car onto a different road.

Steve fell silent. He glanced at Elsa, whose hands trembled slightly on the steering wheel. He had to do something to escape before it was too late. And in a moment of sheer desperation, Steve acted.

He lunged towards the steering wheel and hit it with all his might. The car swerved violently, tires screeching against the gravel road. Elsa screamed as the car lost control, tumbling into the ditch beside the road.

The car rolled over several times, the sound of crunching metal and breaking glass filling their ears. Steve felt the jolt of each impact, his body held in place by the seat belt.

When the car finally came to a stop, upside down, Steve's head was spinning, but he managed to unbuckle his seatbelt and crawl out of the wreckage. He looked around, disoriented, and saw Elsa, shaken but conscious, struggling to free herself. Arnold, however, was slumped in the back seat, unconscious, the gun having fallen from his hand.

Acting quickly, Steve grabbed the gun and pointed it at Arnold, ensuring he couldn't cause any more harm. He pulled out his phone with his other hand, his fingers trembling as he dialed 911.

Arnold, still unconscious, was arrested.

Elsa and Steve, on the other hand, began a new chapter in their lives that included Elsa's healing and recovery and the joy of a son reunited with his mother.

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