Mother Orders Little Daughter to Wait near Church, Then Disappears without a Trace — Story of the Day

A woman leaves her young daughter outside a church, but two decades later, the daughter is still searching for her—and then she finally finds her.

Sometimes there are painful truths too difficult to confront, and that was the case with Carly DIngles. When Carly was five, her mother took her for a ride in her large red car.

They drove far away from familiar streets until they reached a large white church situated in a grassy field. "Carly, sweetheart," her mother said. "You stay right here, and I’ll be back soon."

Then her mother kissed her on the cheek, climbed into the car, her bracelets clinking with movement, and drove away, her bright yellow hair flowing like a flag in the wind.

That was how Carly would remember her mother—driving off, her hand waving with the jangling bracelets, and her yellow hair streaming behind. Carly watched until her mother’s car became a tiny dot on the road, and she sat down on the steps of the church.

She waited patiently, but her mother didn’t return, and nobody else stopped by. As the sun climbed high and Carly became very thirsty, a kind black woman arrived carrying a bunch of lovely flowers.

"Child," she called out. "What are you doing here in the sun?"

"I’m waiting for my mom," Carly explained. "She said she’d come back."

Later, the woman mumbled and fussed, placing her hand on Carly’s forehead and commenting on how hot she was. She then returned to her car and came back with some peaches and a bottle of water. "Sit here in the shade," she instructed. "Drink some water and eat a peach. I’ll be right back."

The woman took the flowers inside and returned with a tall man dressed in black (he later explained he was a priest, although to Carly, he looked like he was wearing a dress). The woman and the man argued intensely, then she made a phone call.

It was almost evening when a slim lady and a police officer arrived and took Carly away. Carly kept insisting her mother was coming back, but no one listened.

Carly was sent to an orphanage. She was very upset and refused to speak to other children. "I’m not an orphan," she yelled. "My mom is coming for me!"

The other children avoided her because she was always angry and bitter, except for one boy. His name was Peter. He was pale and sickly. The others said he had a bad heart.

They didn’t mean Peter was bad, only that his heart didn’t work properly, so he couldn’t run or play catch. Instead, Peter built paper planes and sat on the stairs, seeing how far they could fly.

One day, Peter saw Carly crying on the bottom step and sent her his best paper plane. It soared high, then gently floated down at her feet. Carly picked it up and saw some words written on the wings.

"You're going to be OK," the plane read. Carly looked up to see where it came from and saw Peter. "Did you make this?" she asked.

"Yes," Peter replied. "I can’t run, so I make planes that fly high."

Carly climbed the stairs to give Peter back his plane, and they started talking. They became very good friends—Peter was Carly’s only friend.

Children need and deserve love from their parents.

Whenever Carly had a rough day, she found a paper plane floating somewhere—on her desk, her bed, or at her feet—and it reminded her that everything would be alright.

Time went by quickly, and Carly was soon seventeen, nearly eighteen. Her plan was to find her mother once she left the orphanage.

She asked the director for any details that could help her find her mom, but the woman tried to discourage her. "Carly," she said kindly. "You have a bright future ahead, with a scholarship. Forget about finding your mom right now..."

"Never!" Carly yelled. "I know my mother is looking for me! She came back to that church and I was gone. It’s your fault!" She fled from the office into the garden, crying.

She sat there feeling sick, angry, and sad when a paper plane flew and landed in her lap. She looked down, grabbed it, and crushed it with her fist. "STOP it!" she yelled. "Your stupid planes don’t help me, Peter! I HATE THEM! I HATE YOU!"

Soon, Carly felt ashamed of her outburst and wanted to apologize to Peter. But she was embarrassed, so she didn’t seek him out. He seemed to keep his distance. She left three days later, without saying goodbye.

Over the next two years, Carly traveled across the country searching for her mother. After many adventures, she finally found her in a trailer park near St. Louis, Missouri.

Carly went to the trailer door and knocked. A woman answered, but she looked nothing like Carly’s memories of her beautiful mother. She was much older, with stiff, brittle hair.

"Yes?" the woman asked. "Who are you? I’m not selling anything."

"Mom?" Carly whispered. "Mom, it’s me, Carly!"

"Carly?" her mother gasped. "Well, I’ll be… What are you doing here?"

"Mom, I came to find you," Carly said. "I know you returned to the church, and I was gone…"

Her mother laughed harshly. "Came back? Honey, I brushed the dust off that town by sunset! I found someone new, and he didn’t want me to see any other man."

"You left me?" Carly couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Everyone had said she was right all along. "You left a five-year-old alone outside a church?"

Her mother scoffed. "Aren’t children supposed to be gifts from God? I was just giving you back!"

She laughed again, and Carly turned away and ran off.

Three days later, she returned to the orphanage. She told the director about her trip and how it ended bitterly. "So I came back, hoping to find Peter…"

"Oh, Carly," the director said sadly. "Peter’s heart failed just a few weeks after you left."

Blinded by tears, Carly sat in the garden. She had run away dreaming of a mother who loved her, only to realize that a true, loving heart had been right beside her all along.

"Peter," she whispered. "I’m so sorry."

Then something strange happened. A leaf fell onto her lap. It was bright yellow and shaped exactly like one of Peter’s paper planes. Maybe it was just coincidence, or perhaps a message.

I believe it was Peter telling Carly that everything would be fine, and Carly believes it too.