A railway station announcer decides to adopt a lost kid abandoned by his mother. Months later, he finds his ex-wife’s ring in the boy’s pocket, and what he learns after was a bigger surprise.
Simon was a 28-year-old railway station announcer who had to go through a gruesome divorce process with his ex-wife, Sarah. He was not wealthy, and he and Sarah had gotten married at the early age of 22, only to separate two years later.
During their time together, Simon worked as a cleaner at a local railway station but was promoted after management saw his potential. However, Sarah had bigger dreams and was not content with the amount of money Simon was bringing home.
Sarah always demanded more things from Simon, even though he could not afford them. She grew tired of this kind of lifestyle and left Simon for a rich man.
Simon was heartbroken, especially since he had always dreamt of becoming a father. He had no time to find love again, as he was busy working at the station.
While Simon was at work one day, a boy about 4 to 5 years old approached the information desk, claiming that he was lost. Concerned, Simon let the boy wait inside the booth with him, hoping his parents would return.
Simon sat with the boy for several hours, talking to him. The boy introduced himself as Chris and said he was at the station with his mother. “Do you remember where you were supposed to go? Maybe I can track your mom through the ticket she purchased,” Simon suggested.
The boy sadly shook his head. “Nowhere,” he replied.
Simon found this strange and decided to wait a couple more hours with the boy, who was already getting comfortable with him. They got close instantly, and the boy would only choose to speak to Simon and not anybody else.
That evening, when Simon’s shift was about to end, the police arrived. They decided they would take the boy to an orphanage until his mother was found.
But seeing the poor, innocent boy looking frightened to be around strangers, Simon asked if he could become the boy’s guardian while the police searched for his mother.
Luckily, the police agreed, and after signing some papers, Simon was allowed to become a foster father to Chris. They went home together that night, making themselves a delicious homemade spaghetti and meatballs dinner.
“This is my favorite food!” the young boy said as they were about to eat and Simon couldn’t help but smile. “So this is how it feels to be a father,” he thought.
In just two months, Simon and Chris grew attached to one another. The young boy saw Simon as his father, and likewise, Simon loved Chris like his own son.
One day, the police went to Simon’s house to tell him that the mother was never found. “You have an option to place him in an orphanage, or you can continue with the adoption process to take him under your wing,” they explained to Simon.
This decision was a no-brainer for him. He filed for adoption, hoping to become Chris’ dad forever. Chris couldn’t be happier about this, claiming there was no place he’d rather be. “Thank you, dad,” he said, hugging Simon and this warmed Simon’s heart.
A couple of months later, the adoption process was finalized. Simon was officially Chris’ dad, and the pair couldn’t be more delighted.
One night, Simon went into Chris’ room to kiss him goodnight. As he entered, the boy abruptly hid something inside his back pocket. “What are you hiding there, young man?” Simon asked curiously.
“Nothing, Dad,” Chris replied. Not convinced, Simon reached into the boy’s pocket and pulled out a gold ring. Then his eyes widened in shock.
“Where did you get this?” he asked his son. Simon was sure that the ring was his ex-wife’s because it had their initials engraved on it.
“My mom put this ring inside my pocket at the train station. She said she would go to the store to buy water, but she did not come back,” Chris revealed. “I didn’t tell anyone about the ring because they might take it from me. It’s the only thing I have left of my mom,” he cried.
Simon hugged Chris. “Don’t worry, son. Nobody is going to take that away from you. You didn’t need to hide it from me,” he assured him.
That night, Simon couldn’t sleep. “Could Chris be my biological son?” he wondered. “Could Sarah have been pregnant before we separated?”
So many thoughts were racing inside Simon’s head. “How could she abandon Chris that way? Why did she suddenly decide to leave him? Was it something she had to do for her new partner? Why didn’t she ever tell me she was pregnant?”
To ease his worries, he decided to do a DNA test. The results came weeks later and showed that Simon was indeed Chris’ father. “Sarah was pregnant when she left me?” he said in disbelief.
Simon tried to call Sarah to find answers to the many questions in his head, but her line could not be reached. He realized that Sarah had purposely left Chris at the station, knowing that he would be there.
The DNA test was just further proof for Simon to justify the strong connection he had felt with Chris since the first time he met the young boy. He decided to break the news to Chris, who was just as delighted to find out that Simon was his biological father.
While they let the news sink in, Simon suddenly mentioned with a smile: “Do you realize that if you showed me your mother’s ring earlier, I wouldn’t have needed to adopt you? You’re my son! She gave you the ring so I would recognize it instantly.”
Chris leaned on his dad’s shoulder and nodded. “I’m sorry, dad. Your instinct was right to search my pocket.”
“Good thing I followed my heart and adopted you anyway. If I didn’t, I would have never known you were my son, and we would have never seen each other again,” Simon sighed, embracing his son tightly.
“I’m glad you followed your heart, dad. A father knows his son best!”
Simon was shocked by his son’s words. He was an intelligent boy and he was right. “A father knows his son best,” Simon repeated. He knew that sentence would remain in his mind forever.