A widowed father buys his newborn girl a used stroller at a flea market and hears a strange crack when he puts the baby in. He examines it and makes a terrible discovery that changes their lives.
“It was our favorite place by the window… all those sunsets when we kissed here! How you blushed when I whispered to you, tucking your hair behind your ears,” cried 30-year-old Tyler at his bedroom window. Warm tears dripped on the picture of his late wife Kylie in a frame, bringing back memories as he stared at the red sky.
Tyler and Kylie were happily married, and they had another big event in their lives when she got pregnant. Tyler, the cashier at the grocery store, began to dream of having a beautiful family. Everything seemed like a great scenario until the storm came and took the happiness out of their house when Kylie went into labor…
Tyler could not stop crying, recalling hearing the loud cries of their newborn baby girl Tiara from the maternity ward.
“And then they let me hold my newborn baby… how warm and soft to the touch of her skin… When I asked about you, they showed you in a cloth covered to the very forehead. They patted me on the shoulder and said, “We are so sorry. We couldn’t save her”. Why did you leave us, Kylie?”.
Kylie had developed last-minute complications during labor and had died during childbirth, leaving Tyler with a mountainous responsibility on his shoulder.
The sun disappeared behind the trees as an eerie darkness filled Tyler’s heart. He was lost in deep thought when suddenly, his six-month-old baby girl started crying.
“I’m coming… I’m coming, honey!” Tyler ran to fetch some warm milk. He had nobody to babysit Tiara, so he quit his job to tend to her day and night.
“Awwww…lo-lo-lo…” he fed his baby. Tiara wouldn’t sleep without Tyler cradling her in his arms. Sometimes, she would take over an hour to fall asleep, and Tyler had sore arms carrying her around for a long time.
“Where did I keep it?” Tyler began searching for a metal box where he saved money for petty expenses. Baby Tiara was asleep, so he was cautious not to wake her because once she was up, it would only mean Tyler would have another sleepless night.
“Ah, here it is!!” he exclaimed and opened the box, quickly counting the money. Tyler wanted to buy a stroller. “My arms will ache less and baby Tiara will be happy too!!”
The next day, Tyler went to the flea market in town to buy the baby buggy. Tiara was asleep in his arms, as Tyler walked up and down, cradling her to sleep.
He marched toward the store selling baby essentials and saw a woman with a stroller.
“Hey, miss…hey…hey…I love this stroller. I need one like this for my baby.”
Tyler saw a strange glow light up the woman’s eyes which appeared red, painful, and swollen. It looked as though she had spent several sleepless nights crying. Amanda looked at Tyler’s baby as tears rose in her eyes. She sighed heavily and said, “You can take this. I’ll give it to you for $10!!”
“Only for $10??!” Tyler exclaimed.
“Yes, I changed my mind after seeing your baby. You need this stroller more than I do now. You can take it!”
Tyler was surprised by the generous offer and quickly paid for the stroller. The woman took the money and immediately left, vanishing into the crowd and leaving Tyler puzzled but happy with the bargain.
“Ah, finally, sweetie, dad got you a new buggy. We will go home, clean it, and then you can rest in it, alright?!”
Tyler took the stroller home, unprepared for the discovery he was about to make.
He slightly dusted the stroller that looked too decent for its price. It was used but not worn out. He decided to take Tiara for a walk in her stroller and gently put her in, only to hear a strange crackling noise from under the padded seat. It sounded like a packet of chips getting crushed.
“What is that noise??” Tyler immediately withdrew his baby from the buggy and put her on the couch. He slightly lifted the padding and found a piece of folded paper.
“What is that?” he wondered as he turned it around and saw a handwritten note addressed to a certain “Gigi”.
“To my beloved girl, Gigi. Honey, I miss you every minute, every second. Without you, my world turned into a dark grave…”, the first line began.
Tyler was stunned, and he sat down next to Tiara, who was fast asleep, and continued reading…
“Honey, please forgive Mom. I know you’re with Dad in heaven now. Please know that I will always love you. Please forgive me. I have to sell your stroller. Mom has nowhere to go, honey. I love you and miss you, my baby. Love, mother”.
Tyler’s heart nearly stopped when he realised that this was a mother’s heartfelt confession to her dead child.
“What happened to her daughter? Who is this woman? Where is she now?” – he wondered and went in search of the grief-stricken mother, unaware of how fate would tie her to his life.
The next day, Tyler returned to the flea market and returned to the shop where he bought a pram and inquired about the woman. Luckily, the shop’s CCTV footage helped him find her.
“Yes, that’s her!” – Tyler pointed at the screen.
“She came here to sell an old vintage watch. She told me it belonged to her late mother.”
“Do you know her house?”
“She told me her house is the last one across the street.”
“Thanks, pal!!” Tyler said, hurrying to the woman’s house. There he saw the woman packing her things in a cloth bundle and an old suitcase.
“If you can’t pay your rent, you can’t stay here for free!” an older man yelled at her.
“Hey, miss, hey…you remember me? I bought a stroller from you yesterday, remember??” Tyler chimed in. “May I know your name?”
Moments of silence prevailed, and then she said, “My name is Amanda.”
“Amanda, hey, nice to meet you. I found your letter in the stroller,” Tyler added, and Amanda started to cry.
As it turned out, the baby buggy Amanda sold to Tyler was her only reminder of her dead child, who had lost her battle with cancer. Amanda was forced to sell it with the other old items in order to pay for her overdue rent.
“My daughter Gigi was five years old… She was too young and innocent… She didn’t know what cancer was. She was my only hope to live after I lost my husband,” Amanda cried.
The landlord kicked Amanda out because he wanted to lease the house for a higher price. Though Amanda got social security benefits, the money was drained, settling her late husband’s debts.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, Amanda. Listen, I have an idea. Why don’t you come and stay at my house until you find a better place to stay?”
Tyler sympathized with Amanda and invited her to live in his house if she wanted. Though hesitant at first, Amanda could not resist the pleasure of spending time with Tyler’s baby girl.
Amanda moved into Tyler’s house and tended to his baby while he returned to work. She cared for little Tiara like a mother, and even the baby loved being around her.
As time flew by, Tyler moved on from his sorrow. He realized that his daughter needed the love and care of both parents and popped the question to Amanda one day. They had fallen in love by then.
Tyler and Amanda married shortly after. They understood that besides needing each other’s support, they could heal each other’s wounds this way.
