A poor mum struggling to feed her sick little son sings a song in exchange for alms at a metro station. One day, a rich man recognizes the lyrics and kneels before her, crying like a lost lamb that found its mother.
Rachel sat on the metro platform and watched people walk past her, minding their own business. The next train was arriving in a few minutes; she figured that out just by looking at the passengers getting ready to board it. But that was not what Rachel had come for.
“Mommy, I’m hungry, and my leg is hurting,” spoke the frail, desperate voice of Dave, her six-year-old ailing son, lying on her lap.
Rachel knew she had run out of money after spending everything on lunch. She placed an empty cup in front of her and began singing a song close to her heart…
The people distracted by her sweet voice seemed oblivious to her pain. Most were busy on their phones, some searching for a coin or two to toss into her cup, and some didn’t even bother to look.
Rachel didn’t care about their ignorance. She was there seeking alms in exchange for a song she hummed all her life. She stared at the dirty floor beneath her desperate eyes, wore a long face, and sang the melody she’d always sung her little boy to sleep.
“That song? I have heard it before. But who is singing it? And how does she know the lyrics?”
“God, please help me overcome my struggles. Even if all these people put in a coin each, I’d have enough to buy my son dinner and an ointment,” she thought while singing.
A few minutes later, Rachel heard some coins tossed into her cup. She did not smile and painfully looked up to thank the person through her tears. It was understandable that she was just another desolate homeless person with a child, using her talent to make a living.
Several minutes passed as Rachel kept singing the song again and again. At first, nothing seemed unusual. The train arrived, and people started boarding it while a few others got off, flocking toward the main exit.
Rachel took a little break to see if her son was alright. “Dave, darling, just a few minutes more. And then move form here, alright?”
Dave puffed heavily. He was hungry and in pain due to his injured leg. Two days ago, Dave was had a terrible fall while he was playing. It happened in the same parking lot where the mother and son usually slept on a stack of old cardboard gathered from the dumpster.
The train sped past the platform, jolting Rachel to the present. She coughed, adjusted her voice, and started to sing the melody again. But this time, a wealthy man who had just gotten off the train was eerily drawn to her voice and the lyrics. It was 27-year-old Jeffrey, who, for some reason, realized that he had heard this song before.
That song? I have heard it before. But who is singing it? And how does she know the lyrics that only my granny, sister, and I knew?” he wondered, approaching the spot where Rachel was.
As Jeffrey neared the spot, tears slowly rose in his eyes. Rachel was immersed in her sweet melody when a long shadow of a man fell on her, distracting her.
“Oh my God! RACHEL, is it you? Jesus, I am so sorry,” sobbed Jeffrey, falling to his knees. “Please forgive me for doing this to you, SISTER.”
Rachel’s heart began to throb faster. It felt like it wanted to plop out of its chamber because, at that moment, all of Rachel’s past pain came rushing back.
“Brother? Oh my God, Jeffrey, is it you?” she cried.
The siblings stared at each other in tears, looking back at that one mistake Jeffrey made 18 years ago that cost Rachel more than just her happiness.
When Jeffrey and Rachel were little, they lost their parents in a car crash. They moved in with their grandma, Alice, who cared for them in their parents’ shoes. She was all that they had.
Whenever the siblings were depressed thinking about their parents, she often sang them a beautiful melody to comfort them. “Sing this song whenever your heart feels heavy. And you will feel much better,” she often said, cradling Jeffrey and Rachel in her arms.
The family was happy with the little they had. There were no troubles in their paradise until one day when Alice died of a heart attack. Her loss was unbearable, and the kids were sent to a shelter before they could even get over it or mourn properly. It was here where Jeffrey got a new beginning to mend his life.