Woman Left Her Son Among Rubble. Years Later, She Got Sick And Asked His Help

A Life Trapped in the Shadows

Unable to continue living with his mother, the boy thought he could live in an abandoned house. But what he found there changed his life forever.

James was a boy of only ten years old when he suddenly found himself in a very difficult situation. His mother came home early from work, as usual carrying a load of beer.

She drank all the cans in one night. When she couldn’t buy any, she would go to a cupboard in the kitchen and take out a liter of vodka that she left for what she called “emergencies”.

With beer, she would get soft and sleep on the couch. With vodka it was worse, much worse.

She would become aggressive, screaming at her son, barely understanding what the boy was saying. And then she wouldn’t sleep, it was more like she passed out.

Sometimes on the couch, sometimes on the hallway floor. Occasionally, James would wake up in the middle of the night with noises in the bathroom.

It was his mother throwing up her lunch. Hillary was a troubled woman.

There were the days when she sent her son out of the house so that she could stay with her new boyfriend, a rude man and a drug user who did not like children. It was a very difficult situation for James, because he had nowhere to go.

He would end up staying in parks, woods, or wandering aimlessly in the streets until after the sun went down. He would come home very hungry and there was never a meal waiting for him.

Sometimes he made his own snacks. James was very afraid of being abandoned by his mother, but he remained strong and brave, even though he knew that continuing to live in that house was a constant risk.

He was aware that his mother’s boyfriend could be a threat. One day, as he entered, the man held his arm tightly and pointed a pocket knife at him.

He asked the boy what he wanted there and why he hadn’t left yet. James was terrified and lost his speech for a moment, but he tried not to cry.

His mother saw the scene and didn’t intervene. James didn’t know if it was because she was also afraid of her boyfriend or if she was so drunk that she didn’t understand what was happening.

James just put his head down and went to his room, praying that the man would leave soon. During the night, he realized that living there was like being trapped in captivity, hostage to his own mother and her boyfriend.

The Sanctuary of the Ruined House

James then put some clothes and a few souvenirs into a school bag and went out into the streets of the city, trying to find a place where he could at least spend the night. He found an isolated little house that was falling to pieces.

He was afraid to open the window in case it fell on his feet. But still he decided to go inside and see if it was possible to find a corner where he could spend that night and protect himself a little more from the cold.

Upon entering, he noticed that although it had deteriorated on the outside, inside it was quite livable and there was hardly any wind. In one of the rooms he found some old cardboard boxes that served as a bed.

And this is how James came to the end of that horrible day. He was sad, depressed and hungry.

Sleep would be the best thing he could do, and that house would serve as his fortress for the next few days. In fact, he had no idea what to do and what would happen next.

The next morning he was able to explore the house more carefully. He found so many cardboard boxes in the back that he could make a few bucks if he sold them for recycling.

Maybe he could even secure a simple meal. As he began to sort through the boxes he would exchange for money, he found one still sealed.

He shook it and realized that there was something inside. His curiosity was enormous and so he began to tear the tape, eager to know what was inside that box.

James was so surprised that he could hardly believe his eyes. As he opened the box, he pulled out a very large amount of money.

The boy was scared and happy at the same time, wondering how someone could have forgotten all that money in that place. Would they come back for it?

So James decided that he would leave the money in a safe place, but he would keep an eye out to make sure that no one came looking for it. But since he didn’t have a cent in his pocket, he took a few bills from the amount he found so he could satisfy his hunger.

It was almost noon when he went to the nearest diner to have his first meal after running away from his mother’s house. He ordered a hamburger with fries and soda.

Then he had a sweet pie. James was really hungry and that was the best meal he had eaten in years.

A Chance Meeting with Kind Strangers

Afterwards he strolled around downtown and ended up buying some more fruit to eat for the rest of the day. While at the grocery store he bumped into an elderly couple who noticed how lonely this young man must have been in life.

His clothes were crumpled and still lightly dusted. The couple took pity on him and wanted to know where his parents were.

James told them the whole story, which deeply moved the two. They looked at each other and talked in low voices for a minute.

Then they said that this was not right, that James should not be alone on the street or in an abandoned house. Then the couple invited the boy to at least spend some time in their home.

They said they were already elderly and had never had children. They lived alone a little way out of town and would have room for James.