After Jake’s wife decided to travel the world and leave her family behind, he was left to take care of his two little girls, Emma, 4, and Lily, 5, all by herself.
Navigating through life hasn’t been easy for this single dad, who struggled to balance work, his children, and housework, but he knew he needed to be strong for his girls and did everything in his power to take great care of them.
“Emma, Lily, time to get up!” he would wake his girls up softly every morning.
That particular morning didn’t start any differently, except for the huge surprise that awaited them in the kitchen.
Neither Emma nor Lily wanted to get up, but once they finally did, they picked their favorite dresses, with Jake helping them get dressed. The three of them headed downstairs for breakfast before heading to daycare. Jake had planned to make his usual oatmeal with milk, but as soon as he walked into the kitchen, he was taken aback. On the table sat three plates of freshly made pancakes, topped with jam and fruit.
“Girls, did you see this?” he asked, confused.
Lily’s eyes lit up. “Wow, pancakes! Did you make them, Daddy?”
“No, I didn’t. Maybe Aunt Sarah came by early,” Jake said, pulling out his phone to call his sister and ask if she had prepared the breakfast.
To his surprise, Sarah said she didn’t stopped by that morning and wanted to know why he was asking, but Jake said it was nothing and went to check on the front door and the windows but there was no sign of anyone entering the place forcefully.
“Is it safe to eat, Daddy?” Emma asked, and Jake said yet, although hesitantly.
Confused, he couldn’t stop wondering who the person who treated them with pancakes could be, but since they were late already, he took the girls to the daycare and went for work.
When Jake and the girls returned home that evening, another surprise awaited them. The lawn, which he hadn’t had time to mow, was neatly trimmed. “This is getting weird,” Jake muttered to himself as he checked the house again, but everything seemed normal.
The next morning, determined to get to the bottom of the mystery that had kept him up all night, Jake woke up around 6 a.m. and hid in the kitchen. To his surprise, he saw a woman climbing through the window.
She was wearing worn-out clothes and immediately began doing the dishes. After a moment, she pulled a piece of cheese from her bag and started preparing pancakes once more.
As he stepped out of his hiding place, Jake yelled, “Wait, please, I won’t harm you. You made those pancakes, right? Please, tell me why you’re doing this? Don’t be afraid of me, I’m the father of the girls and would never harm a woman, especially when you’ve helped me so much.”
The mysterious woman then stopped and turned her face towards Jake. She did look familiar, but he couldn’t recall where he had seen her before.
“We’ve met before, haven’t we?” he asked in confusion.
She nodded, but before she could say anything, the girls started shouting, “Daddy, daddy.” Jake then asked from the woman to take a seat at the dinner table and meet Emma and Lily, and she agreed.
“Come on, girls, we have a surprise guest downstairs,” Jake said. Curious, Emma and Lily followed him to the kitchen to see who had visited them.
The woman stood near the window, looking ready to flee.
“Please, don’t go,” Jake said gently. “I just want to talk—and to thank you.”
“Who is she, Daddy?” Lily asked, glancing up at him.
“Let’s find out together,” he replied before turning to the woman. “Please, have a seat. Can I get you some coffee?”
The woman hesitated, then finally spoke. “I’m Jack,” she began, “and these are my daughters, Emma and Lily. You’ve been helping us, and I need to know why.”
The woman then explained that Jake helped her some two months ago when she was at a very bad place.
“Helped you? How?” Jake was curious to understand.
“I was lying by the road, weak and desperate. Everyone passed by, but you stopped. You took me to a charity hospital. I was severely dehydrated and could have died. When I woke up, you were gone, but I convinced the parking guard to tell me your car number. I found out where you lived and decided to thank you.”
Jake suddenly realized. “I remember now. You were in terrible shape. I couldn’t just leave you there.”
Claire was happy to accept the generous offer.
She then shared her life story and explained that she was trying to reunite with her son. After hearing that, Jake agreed to help her fulfill that dream of hers. Over time, they bonded, creating a new chapter for both their families, filled with hope and mutual support.
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