\nA grieving mother who visits her son\u2019s cemetery virtually every day is taken aback when she discovers baby toys there and learns a terrible truth about his life.\n
\u201cA MUSICIAN? Have you lost your mind, Leonard?\u201d Kenneth snapped when his son declared his desire to pursue a career in music.\n
Leonard was 18 years old, just out of high school, and anxious to pursue what he enjoyed. However, Leonard\u2019s parents wanted him to become a lawyer, something he didn\u2019t want to do.\n
He\u2019d taken a gap year after high school because he didn\u2019t want to rush into professional selections, and he realized that music was something he truly wanted to pursue. However, when he expressed an interest in becoming a musician, his parents were unimpressed.\n
\u201cBut what\u2019s wrong with becoming a musician, dad?\u201d Leonard grumbled. \u201cThere are so many people who followed their passion and are very successful now. I want to be one of them! I don\u2019t want to do a boring desk job!\u201d\n
\n
\u201cLook, son,\u201d his father continued. \u201cI have made my decision quite clear, and I don\u2019t want to repeat myself. You\u2019re going to become a successful lawyer just like your grandfather and me. Is that clear?\u201d\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no way, Dad!\u201d Leonard shot back. \u201cYou cannot force me to do something I don\u2019t want to do! I want to pursue my passion, music, and that\u2019s what I\u2019ll do!\u201d\n
\u201cBut honey,\u201d his mother intervened. \u201cYour father is not pressuring you. He just doesn\u2019t want you to waste your time over something that\u2019s not even certain. You see, so many people have big dreams, but only a handful achieves them. He\u2019s just worried about you and doesn\u2019t want you to suffer.\u201d\n
\u201cOh really, mom?\u201d Leonard snapped. \u201cIf he really cares about me, he should support me!\u201d\n
\u201cCalm down, Leonard. Don\u2019t forget you are talking to your parents!\u201d his father warned him. \u201cIf you want to make your own decisions, why don\u2019t you pay for your university? If you stay with us, you have to listen to us and obey us. Otherwise, get lost!\u201d\n
\n
\u201cFine, dad!\u201d Leonard said. \u201cI\u2019ll prove to you guys one day how wrong you are. I don\u2019t want to be your obligation anyway. I\u2019ll make money as well as a name for myself!\u201d Leonard said and walked away to his room.\n
Leonard\u2019s mother, Lily, told him to calm down and speak it out later, but he was furious. That evening, he packed his luggage and left the house, swearing never to return.\n
Lily continuously asking him not to do it. She even tried to persuade Kenneth to stop their son, but the guy was so firm in his beliefs that he refused to move. At the same time, Leonard didn\u2019t seem to care. He was determined to prove his parents wrong, so he left the house that evening, cutting all links with them.\n
Leonard and his parents had no touch for three years. Lily was frequently anxious about her kid, so she tried phoning him a few times went to voicemail, and Leonard never returned them.\n
However, while Lily was making breakfast one morning, her phone rang. She hastily washed her hands and ran to answer it, but what she heard on the other end of the telephone left her feeling confused.\n
It was a phone call alerting her that her son Leonard had \u1d05\u026a\u1d07\u1d05. The little youngster was injured in a motorcycle \u1d00\u1d04\u1d04\u026a\u1d05\u1d07\u0274\u1d1b and \u1d05\u026a\u1d07\u1d05 before arriving at the hospital.\n
\n
Lily broke down in sobs, unable to accept the \u1d05\u1d07\u1d00\u1d1b\u029c of her darling son. \u201cNo way! That can\u2019t happen! Nothing has happened to my son!\u201d She sobbed loudly enough to wake Kenneth, who was taken aback when he spotted Lily on the living room floor, clutching her phone and bawling her eyes out.\n
\u201cHoney, what\u2019s the matter?\u201d Kenneth asked worriedly. But Lily couldn\u2019t respond.\n
Kenneth snatched the phone from Lily\u2019s grasp at that point. \u201cHello? \u201cWho is this?\u201d\n
\u201cThis is Officer Duncan calling, sir. We regret to inform you that your son, Leonard Williams, \u1d05\u026a\u1d07\u1d05 this morning in a motorcycle accident. We would appreciate it if you could come as soon as possible to confirm the boy\u2019s body is Leonard\u2019s. We found your phone number in his phone and called you.\u201d\n
Kenneth couldn\u2019t believe what he was hearing. \u201cAre you sure, officer, that\u2019s our Leonard? This\u2026this can\u2019t be\u2026\u2026\u201d\n
\u201cLook, sir. We found this contact on the victim\u2019s phone. This number was listed as \u201cmom.\u201d Either way, you should come and confirm the body. Thank you,\u201d Officer Duncan said before hanging up.\n
Kenneth and Lily were heartbroken. They traveled from Chicago to Milwaukee, where the officer claimed Leonard\u2019s body was, hoping that all they had heard was a mistake or a bad dream that would pass fast.\n
When they arrived at the morgue, they couldn\u2019t believe the lifeless boy with pale skin was their son. Lily cried on the floor, and Kenneth\u2019s cheeks were dripping with tears.\n
Kenneth and Lily prepared their son\u2019s burial in Milwaukee the next day, too distraught to bring him to their birthplace, which had marked the beginning of their separated relationship, and bid Leonard goodbye. However, the \u1d05\u1d07\u1d00\u1d1b\u029c of their son affected their relationship.\n
Kenneth became extremely quiet, drinking heavily and condemning himself deep down for being a bad father, while Lily continued to blame him for sending his kid out of the house.\n
Kenneth never bothered to accompany Lily to Leonard\u2019s grave after that. He felt bad about facing his son, and he could never generate the confidence to do so. Lily, on the other hand, drove two hours to see her son\u2019s grave every day.\n
One day, she had just arrived at Leonard\u2019s grave when she discovered a little teddy bear nearby. She took it and laid it away, assuming someone must have left it there by accident, replaced it with the bouquet she\u2019d bought, and sat there talking to her son for a while before leaving.\n
However, when she went to the grave the next day, the teddy bear was there again, this time with several toys.\n
She was concerned as to whether they had been placed there on purpose. She asked the caretaker if he knew anything, but he said that he did not.\n
\n
Lily left the cemetery that day, perplexed as to who could be bringing toys to her son\u2019s grave, but when she returned the next day, all of her concerns were dispelled.\n
Lily had just arrived at the cemetery when she saw a young woman standing in front of Leonard\u2019s grave, holding a baby in her arms. The woman\u2019s eyes were closed, as if she were praying. After a few minutes, she walked away, leaving a toy by Leonard\u2019s grave.\n
Lily couldn\u2019t contain her curiosity and decided to approach her. \u201cExcuse me,\u201d she said. \u201cDo you know my son? I just noticed you placed a toy near his grave. Are you the one who has been doing it for days?\u201d\n
The woman looked a little stunned. \u201cAre you Lily Williams? Leonard\u2019s mother?\u201d\n
\u201cYou know me?\u201d Lily\u2019s eyes widened.\n
\u201cOf course, Mrs. Williams,\u201d the woman said, her eyes welling up. Lily sensed a strange fear and worry in her tears. \u201cI\u2019m Carrie. I\u2019m Leonard\u2019s girlfriend. And this baby is Henry, our son.\u201d\n
Lily couldn\u2019t believe her eyes when she looked at the child. The baby was an exact replica of her late son! \u201cBut Leonard, he never\u2026.\u201d\n
\u201cI never imagined we\u2019d meet like this, Mrs. Williams,\u201d Carrie stated. \u201cLeonard missed you terribly. He was hoping to reconnect with you, but\u2026\u201d The woman almost burst into tears.\n
Lily consoled her, and the two went to a neighboring park. Carrie told Lily the entire story while she sat there wiping her eyes.\n
Leonard ended up meeting Carrie when he visited her town to pursue his aspirations. However, due to a lack of cash, he started working as a part-time waitress at a restaurant to supplement his income, and it was there he met Carrie.\n
Carrie became pregnant more than a year after they moved in together. Leonard was elated! He composed a song devoted to his future child, which was not a great hit but gained a lot of attention in various US areas.\n
That prompted him to take the next step in his career, and he began approaching several producers. Many even accepted to work with him. However, Carrie and Leonard were devastated when the man was involved in an accident.Carrie was transported to the hospital with labor pains that morning. A neighbor had called an ambulance for her, and she had no idea Leonard had been involved in an accident. She remained comatose for a few days following the delivery, and when she awoke, she discovered Leonard had \u1d05\u026a\u1d07\u1d05.\n
The woman couldn\u2019t stop grieving and began going to his cemetery virtually every day. Leonard had bought the toys for their child, and she had been abandoning them.\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know what to do when I found out he had died,\u201d Carrie went on. \u201cThe cops\u2026.they tracked my address through Leonard\u2019s driver\u2019s license, and that\u2019s how I found out he was no longer alive. They also said that you and Mr. Williams had planned the funeral in Milwaukee. I contacted the cemeteries one by one and discovered Leonard was here.\n
\u201cI wanted to meet you one day but didn\u2019t know how to. Leonard loved you, and he promised that when he became famous, he\u2019d call you and his father here, and all of us would live happily as a family. But sadly, that did not happen.\u201d\n
Lily couldn\u2019t hold back her tears when she heard that. She had already lost her son and did not want to lose her grandchild as well. So she encouraged Carrie and Henry to move in with her, insisting that they were just as much a part of her family as Leonard. The young lady was apprehensive at first, but accepted after Lily insisted.\n
That fateful day transformed Lily and Kenneth\u2019s life for the better. Kenneth became a devoted grandfather to Henry, and witnessing him care for the youngster prompted Lily to become more patient and tolerant of him, so improving their relationship.\n
Carrie considers herself fortunate to have met Lily and Kenneth, who are great grandparents for Henry. They also helped her get Leonard\u2019s song released by a well-known company.\n
Carrie adds Henry, who is now five years old, is very proud of his father\u2019s job as a musician and desires to follow in his father\u2019s footsteps, and Lily and Kenneth are very supportive of Henry.\n
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