A few days earlier…
“Mommy,” said Eve sadly. “Can you get me a doll?”
“Honey,” Pauline gently replied. “You know we’re on a tight budget this month. Mommy will buy you one next month. That’s a promise.”
“But mommy…” Eve’s voice began to crack. “My birthday is in two days. Did you forget about it?”
“Oh, no, no, sweetheart! Not at all!” Pauline said, but she had actually forgotten and felt terrible about it.
“Are you still not going to get me a doll? I don’t have any friends, mommy. Nobody wants to be friends with me because we are poor. That doll can be my best friend…”
“Oh honey,” Pauline hugged Eve. “I will get you the doll. Promise. Don’t be sad, ok?”
Pauline knew the kids at Eve’s school didn’t treat her well because she wasn’t as rich as them, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. Children can be cruel at times.
Present day…
Pauline was delighted after buying the doll. She couldn’t wait to give it to Eve and see her beautiful smile. The doll was one of those vintage kinds, holding a tiny baby in her arms.
“Oh, Eve will be so happy!” Pauline thought on her way back home.
And Eve was. The little girl’s joy knew no bounds when Pauline showed her the doll on her birthday.
Sometimes, the cause of someone’s smile is the source of another person’s grief.
“Ta-da! Mommy got the doll for Evie!” Pauline exclaimed, holding the doll in her hands. “Can mommy have a kiss for that?”
“It’s so pretty! Thank you, mommy!” Eve chirped as she kissed Pauline on the cheek.
As Pauline handed over the doll to Eve, she suddenly heard a strange crackling sound.
“What was that?” Pauline wondered.
She shook the doll, holding it close to her ears, and heard the crackling again.
“Mommy! Give it here! I wanna hold my doll! Please! Please!” Eve said, excited to play with it.
“One second, honey. I think there’s something in here…”
It was then that Pauline examined the doll and found a secret pocket sewn into the doll’s outfit. She undid the loose threads around it, and a note fell from it.
Eve quickly picked it up and said, “Mommy, it says, ‘Happy Birthday, Mommy.’ It’s not your birthday! It’s my birthday! This is so silly!”
When Pauline read the note, she noticed the message seemed like it was scribbled by a child. At that point, the thought of the woman selling the doll flashed through Pauline’s mind.
The next day, she returned to the flea market with the doll, and luckily, the woman’s stall was still there.
“Oh, I’m glad I found you here!” Pauline said. “I bought this doll yesterday, and I found a note inside…”
When the woman, Miriam, saw the note, her eyes welled up. “My daughter got this doll for me,” she said quietly. “She passed away two days before my birthday…My husband and I, oh, I’m sorry…” The woman covered her face as her tears started to flow.
“I’m really sorry for your loss,” Pauline said apologetically. “I had no idea. I know I can’t take away your pain, but if it helps, I can give you a hug.”
“Oh, thank you…” Miriam said. Pauline gave her a warm hug, after which Miriam revealed her sad story, which brought tears to Pauline’s eyes.
“My little daughter was diagnosed with cancer,” Miriam said. “We needed money for her chemotherapy. My husband and I work at a factory. We didn’t have enough money to cover her hospital bills, so we set up a stall here to sell our old furniture and things we didn’t need.”
“But we couldn’t save our daughter…She—she left us too soon. We’re selling her toys because every time I look at them, it just makes me sad.”
“One night, when I held my baby girl’s hand, she asked me to be happy. She had said, ‘Mumma, when I’m gone, please remember me with a smile.’ So I decided to sell the toys. She had bought that doll, saying it would remind me of her. I’m sorry I feel like I’m oversharing with you, but my heart feels really relieved today. Thank you for listening to me.”
As Miriam finished, she broke down into tears again. Pauline consoled her, and the two women talked about their lives for a while. Pauline told her how she’d been raising Eve by herself and invited her over to spend time with them.
“Eve will love to meet you,” she said. “And thank you so much for the doll. It made my daughter’s day. I’m sure your daughter is looking at you and smiling. Thank you again,” she added before she left.
A few days later, Miriam visited Eve and Pauline at the trailer where they lived.
“This is in appreciation of your kind heart and patience in listening to me that day. I hope this helps you and Eve,” Miriam said, handing Pauline an envelope.
When Pauline opened it, she found a couple of dollar bills inside. $3000 in total. “Oh, Miriam, we can’t take this. This is a lot. No, no, this doesn’t feel right…”
“You can take it, Pauline,” Miriam insisted. “A mother’s heart knows how much it hurts when you can’t do enough for your child. We made this by selling the toys. Please keep it. If not for my sake, please keep it for Eve’s sake.”
Pauline cried. “Oh, Miriam, thank you. This will help us a lot. Thanks.”
From then on, Miriam and Pauline became friends, and Miriam loved and spoiled Eve too much. But the best part was that Pauline and Eve’s company helped Miriam heal and move on from her loss.
What can we learn from this story?
Help someone in need, and you’ll never regret it. Pauline and Miriam helped each other in whatever way they could. That helped Miriam overcome her grief, and Pauline and Eve found someone who cherished their company.
Sometimes, the cause of someone’s smile is the source of another person’s grief. Sadly, the doll which made Eve happy on her birthday was a reminder of Miriam’s sad past.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.
Mom Gets Harsh Criticism After Naming Her Daughter After A Disney Character
An Australian mom named Indy Clinton may only be twenty-five years old, but she knows what she wants when it comes to her newborn daughter’s name. After the 25-year-old mom from Sydney, Australia gave birth to her newborn daughter, she decided to name the child Bambi, after the classic Disney character and in honor of Molly-Mae Hague’s newborn child, Bambi – but lots of people online have shared their hatred for this chosen baby name and mom Indy Clinton doesn’t care one lick about their criticisms.
Indy skyrocketed to fame on the Chinese social media platform, TikTok, where she shares quirky videos that feature her sexy looks and her family. Clinton turned to TikTok to reveal that she could not “believe the coincidence” that she named her daughter Bambi after Love Islander Molly-Mae announced the same baby name on Instagram, revealing that she had named her baby daughter Bambi as well.
Indy has loved Disney’s movie Bambi since she was a little girl. She also purchased a copy of Bambi in a storybook, which she regularly reads to her 2-year-old son, Navy. Because she loved Bambi so much, it was only natural for the 25-year-old Aussie mom to name her newborn daughter after her favorite Disney character from the classic movie.
Originally, Indy planned to name her newborn daughter Paloma. However, she met the girl and was immediately struck by her “sweet, curious nature,” not to mention her “big, brown eyes.” She was immediately reminded of the Disney cartoon character and threw all her baby name plans out the window to name her child Bambi instead of Paloma.
Indy’s daughter is now four months old, but her extended family is still surprised that the TikTok mom chose to name her human child after a Disney cartoon baby deer.
“Four months ago, when I was giving birth, I was convinced Bambi was the most unique, unusual name that nobody would use.
“Good on Molly-Mae, though. It looks like great minds think alike. We were set on calling her Paloma at first. That was her name, and nothing was going to change that. But I was reading the book to Navy one night, and it came to me.”
The TikTok mom claimed that the moment she decided to name her newborn daughter after the Disney character was like lightning striking.
“I sat up and yelled, ‘what about Bambi?’ and from then on, it stuck.”
People have criticized Molly-Mae’s daughter’s name on social media. Although people are criticizing the same name that Indy chose for her daughter, now four months old, she doesn’t care if people don’t like it because she absolutely loves the Disney character name for her child.
“You know, unique names are the new trend,” the 25-year-old mom said. “Bambi is going to fit right in with the Rivers, Bears, Forests, Stormis, and Wolfs. I’d be more concerned calling my kid a name from the 1900s. People will criticize anything these days, so at least give them something to talk about.”
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