When the police dispatcher answered a call, he heard a child sobbing because his mother had gone to paradise. The youngster felt much better as a result of his response.
One day, Sam’s father called out to him, “Come here, Samuel.” He hesitated to respond, not because he feared being struck, but rather because he sensed the gravity of the situation.
Sam had always been sympathetic, therefore he did not want to get too near to the sorrowful feelings he was experiencing from his father. Even though he knew he had done nothing wrong that day, his father never used his entire name unless he was in trouble.
When Sam eventually sat down with his father on the couch in the living room, he said, “Yes, father.”
His father said, “Listen, son.” “I need you to remain extremely composed while I tell you something.” Sam nodded his agreement even though he did not appreciate his father’s dejected tone.
“Your mom won’t be coming back to our house.”
Sam was taken aback by his father’s remarks. He had been told that his mother would return, but she had been hurried out of their home in the early hours of the morning because she had lost her ability to breathe.
“Never, ever? Why? Sam questioned his dad.
His father responded, “Because she flew to heaven, son.”
Sam, who was six years old, shook his head and inquired as to when his mother will return because it sounded to him like she had just left for paradise. His father started crying at that point and left the room.
After waiting for his mother to return for days, Sam became concerned when she never did. A week later, he was upset that his mother, whom he loved, had not even come to see him.
He was reluctant to ask his father since every time he attempted to broach the subject, the man froze and broke down in tears. Sam made the decision to take action on his own one weekend.
After days of speculation, he concluded that his mother’s difficulty returning to them could have been caused by a negative event. He then dialed the police. John Lewis, a dispatcher, answered the phone.
With a firm tone, the man said, “This is 911. How may I help you?”
“Hi, 911? I’m Sam, and I’m phoning to share some information with you regarding my mother.
The voice questioned, “Why?” “What is the matter with her?”
Sam responded, “Well, my dad and I are starting to worry because she hasn’t been home in a few days.” “He claims that she went to heaven, but I fear that she got lost en route.”
The dispatcher initially thought the call was a prank and would have hung up if he didn’t hear the note of despair in the boy’s voice.
“What is your age?” he inquired.
“Sir, I’m six. Could you help me locate my mother? She won’t be able to find her way, which worries me a lot,” Sam added.
John Lewis took a few moments to consider his answer before responding. He could not end the call without somehow helping the youngster, even though he knew it would be terrible to make him aware of the truth.
Why don’t you try writing her a brief letter each month and sending it to her with red balloons if you want her to find her way home? She will follow the balloon trail when she sees them because she will know that they are missing her.
After he hung up, little Sam was excited that he had at last arrived at a solution. Later that day, he wrote a letter to his mother explaining how the house looked without her. He hoped it would make her want to come home more because she hated seeing mess.
Sam waited for an answer, but he did not get one. So he wrote another letter the following month, this time describing how sad his father looked because she wouldn’t return, but the same thing happened, there was no response even though his balloons always seemed to soar into the heavens.
When he didn’t get a reply to his second letter, Sam called the police again. The dispatcher once again calmed him down and urged him to continue writing letters.
After the call, the man asked a favor of his fellow officers. He also did a little research on Sam’s family and reached out to the boy’s father and teachers.
A few days later, a police motorcade pulled up on Sam’s street. Each cop who participated had a single red balloon in their hand, and they all presented it to Sam, encouraging him.
Feeling encouraged by the balloons, Sam wrote another letter to his mother, and this time, he received a reply telling him how much she loved him. In truth, it was his father who wrote the letters. The man decided that he would keep doing so until his boy was ready to accept his mother’s death.
What did we learn from this story?
Empathy is an important skill. John Lewis could have rudely revealed the truth about Sam’s mother’s death to him, but he chose to help the boy feel better by giving him advice. The gesture helped little Sam rest a little better at night, and the advice eventually became one that helped him deal with his mother’s demise.
Kids often see more than they say. Sam knew something was wrong the moment he heard his father call him on the morning his mother passed away. He could tell how shaken his father was even though he could not understand what had caused it. His father tried to give him the bad news but was too emotional to do so successfully, and when Sam got tired of not knowing when his mother would return, he called the cops to get answers.
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