Man Visits Mom\’s Grave, Sees a Tombstone with His Name and Photo of a Child Nearby — Story of the Day

Martin had not visited his hometown since he\’d moved to Europe to establish a career as an acrobat. His mother had been old and fragile, and she didn\’t work, so Martin used to send her a monthly allowance to cover her utility bills and other things.

But one day, he checked the joint account they shared and noticed the money was lying there untouched. At that moment, Martin knew something was wrong, and he dialed an old friend in his hometown, only to learn his dear mother was gone…

\”When did it happen?\” he asked sadly. \”Those people… they didn\’t even let me know….\”

\”Your father\’s family said they couldn\’t reach you. It\’s been over two months, Martin,\” his friend, Alicia, said. \”She missed you; you know that.\”

\”I want to meet her,\” he told her. \”I really should. This is the last thing I can do for her as a son.\”

\”She\’d love that,\” she said.

\”Would you come with me?\” he asked. \”To pay respects to her? I don\’t think I can face this alone… I still can\’t believe she\’s gone.\”

\”I will,\” she said encouragingly. \”You know I\’ll never say no. She was like family to me. I miss her too.\”

That weekend, Martin flew to the small village in Tennessee to visit the grave of his late mother and was joined by Alicia. He\’d bought a bouquet of white lilies that had been his mother\’s favorite, and he cried when he laid it against the cold grey stone.

\”I miss you, Mum,\” he whispered to her. \”More than you know. And I loved you. I always will. I wish I had been a better son and visited you more often. We could have spent time together. Sorry, Mom.\”

Martin wiped his tears as he rose to his feet to leave the cemetery when Alicia began pulling his arm. \”Martin, look there!\” she gasped. \”That\’s you! That has your name!\”

Sometimes in life, you have to leave your past behind and move on.

Alicia was pointing to a tombstone not far from his mother\’s, and he was shocked as he ran his fingers over the name engraved on it.

\”In the beloved memory of Martin,\” the inscription read, and an old picture of a child was nearby, wrapped in a transparent waterproof package.

Martin picked up the picture and looked at the old snapshot displaying a child who was a vivid image of him. \”How is this possible?\” he asked himself. \”Who is the child in this picture?\”

\”Did you have a brother you didn\’t know of? Honestly, this is weird, and you never know… Maybe you did have a twin! And you shared the same name?\” Alicia said.

\”I don\’t know,\” Martin sighed. \”I really don\’t know anything… Mom never told me anything about having a brother. And I wasn\’t close to my father, you know that. But if I do have a brother, I want to find him, and I think I know where to start.\”

An hour later, Martin and Alicia were in his mother\’s cottage, searching for clues, albums, and anything that would justify his name on the grave. He was checking her bedside drawers and found a couple of old albums but nothing significant.

Martin and his father were estranged, and he didn\’t visit his mother often. Then he learned they were separated, so he began sending her an allowance to support her.

Martin checked the last drawer and album he found and sighed when it didn\’t lead to anything valuable. Then he saw that peeking from under the mattress of his late mother\’s bed was a file.

The sheets inside were stained dirty yellow, and most of the handwriting on them was gone, but Alicia and Martin deduced it belonged to a nursing home in the village where Martin\’s mother\’s old cousin had been living.

\”You think she can tell you anything?\” Alicia asked. \”What if the place closed down? There\’s no contact number here,\” she added, shuffling the sheets.

\”I didn\’t know Mom had a cousin in a nursing home, and if she kept the file under her mattress and never told me anything about her, this means we\’re one step closer to this mystery, mess, or whatever you\’d like to call it. Let\’s visit this place, and we\’ll find out.\”

So Martin and Alicia drove to the Mayflower Care Home, and while the building seemed very old, it was still there. And it was operational!