Woman Notices Her 9-Year-Old Daughter Goes to Abandoned Building Every Day after School — Story of the Day

A self-made woman named Annika Thompson raised her 9-year-old daughter Julie all alone. One day, she realized that her daughter had been frequenting an abandoned building after school, so she decided to find out why.

Annika Thompson owned a multi-million-dollar cosmetic business which she started from the ground up. She did all of this while raising her daughter Julie alone, having told her that her father was a kind man who died before she was born.

The truth was, Annika had been abandoned by her boyfriend Adam when she was eight months pregnant. He had jetted off to New York for a business trip and never came back.

It was Annika who drove him to the airport, and all seemed well until he didn't return home after five days. It was also then that Annika realized he had been distant and quiet before his flight, making it an excuse that he had a headache.

Annika wanted to get to the bottom of why her daughter would frequent an abandoned building near her ballet school. | Photo: Shutterstock

Annika was both scared and devastated. With a baby to raise and without anybody to help her, she had no idea where to begin picking up the pieces.

However, when Julie came, everything changed. She was full of hope, and she was determined to give her daughter the best future she could possibly have.

When Julie was a toddler, Annika's parents, who lived in Europe, died in a car crash. They left Annika, their only daughter, with a considerable amount of money.

Wanting to make use of the money wisely, Annika invested it in her own makeup line, which ended up being a favorite among teenagers and young adults. Now, the business is worth millions of dollars.

Annika felt depressed, but that all changed when Julie arrived. | Photo: Unsplash

Because of this, Julie had everything she could possibly want in life. She rode horses, took ballet lessons, and attended one of the best private schools in Los Angeles.

Even though she had all the best things in life, Annika was relieved her daughter did not grow up spoiled. She was a kind young girl who was very loving and caring to everyone she met.

One day, this kindness caused a rift between the mother and daughter. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Julie had ballet school, and she'd often be picked up by their family driver.

Julie would always arrive home an hour late from class, despite the school being less than 10 minutes away. When Annika confronted the driver, he admitted that Julie would come out of the school later than her other classmates, and with her clothes soiled.

Concerned, Annika decided to ask Julie what she did after ballet, but her daughter would just shrug her off. So, wanting to get to the bottom of it, she decided to pick up Julie herself.

The next Monday, Annika parked outside the ballet school and saw her daughter's classmates heading out one by one. Then she noticed Julie sneaking out towards an abandoned building at the end of the street.

Annika wanted to protect Julie from the dangers of the world. | Photo: Unsplash

Startled, Annika got out of her car to follow her there. She was walking towards a figure leaning towards one of the building walls.

"I'm here! I have a few sandwiches and juice for you today. I also got you a pair of socks..." Julie said, which made the man look up and smile.

When Annika saw that the man was about to stand up and go towards Julie, she panicked. "Julie! What are you doing here? Get out of there now!"

Surprised, Julie dropped the plastic bag she was holding. "Mom! Why are you here? This is my friend and I'm just giving him some food," Julie said. At that moment, Annika grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the building.

On the way home, Julie didn't hear the end of it from her mother. She scolded her about talking to strangers, the dangers of sneaking out of school, and the dangers of being in abandoned buildings.

Julie would quickly get dressed after ballet practice to go to an abandoned building. | Photo: Pexels

"Mom, I've been helping that man for two years now. He's never touched me, let alone hurt me!" Julie argued.

"You don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. You're NEVER going to see that man again. You have to promise me, Julie!" Annika said angrily. Julie couldn't help but sob.

Although Annika knew that her daughter had good intentions, she was afraid that there would be people who would take advantage of her kindness. Months passed, and Annika continued to pick Julie up from school to make sure she didn't wander off again.

On the day of Julie's dance recital, the two of them were on the road when Julie suddenly screamed, "Mom! Stop the car! STOP THE CAR, PLEASE!"

Annika stopped the car, and before she could ask Julie what was wrong, she had already dashed out of the door. Annika followed suit, and she saw Julie kneeling beside a man lying on the sidewalk, covered in snow.

Julie made her mom stop the car after sighting her friend lying on the pavement. | Photo: Unsplash

"Mom. That's my friend. He's unconscious," Julie said crying.

Annika took a closer look at the man and gasped. "Adam?" she said, wiping the snow out of his face to take a closer look. "Oh my god, Adam!" she said again.

Annika dialed 911 and embraced her daughter to comfort her. After a couple of minutes, an ambulance arrived and the man was taken to the hospital.

Instead of going to the dance recital, Annika decided to follow the ambulance to the hospital. "Thank you, mom," Julie thanked her for giving her the chance to be with her friend.

When they got to the hospital, the man, who they discovered to be Adam, remained in a coma. Annika revealed to the doctors that he was actually her boyfriend who skipped town years ago and never came back to them.

"Well, ma'am.. this man has a benign brain tumor which has been there for the past decade. Did you remember him suffering frequent headaches or even memory loss?" the doctor asked.

Suddenly, it all made sense to Annika. "He used to have the worst headaches. He'd be in pain so often it made him irritable," she said.

"It makes sense. Gradually, his memory started to deteriorate, too. It's likely he didn't know his way back home. If we remove this tumor, there's a 60% chance he can regain his memory," the doctor explained.

The doctor explained Adam's situation to Annika. | Photo: Pexels

"He was lost all this time?" Annika said, in tears. "All along, I thought he had abandoned me... us!"

When she was finally able to compose herself, Annika let Julie know who the man actually was. "Sweetheart, your friend? He's actually your dad. You see, he did not die in an accident. I thought he had abandoned us when you were still in my tummy," she told her daughter.

Two weeks after the surgery, Adam regained consciousness. At that time, Annika never left his side.

"Annika? Why am I the one at the hospital? Where's our baby?" he asked as he tried to process what was happening.

The doctors advised Annika to let Adam learn about what happened gradually. He also had to undergo therapy, especially to grasp the idea that his daughter was now a 9-year-old little lady.

In the end, Julie's kindness brought her own father back into their home, and the nightmare Adam had been living finally ended, as he was back home with his family.

Adam, Annika, and Julie reunited and had a fresh start. | Photo: Unsplash

What can we learn from this story?

• Sometimes, even the most terrible wounds heal after some time. Annika held a grudge against Adam until she found out he actually didn't leave her purposely.
• Being kind to the people you meet can bring about a twist of fate. Julie didn't know that her kindness to a stranger would lead to bringing her father back into their lives.

Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a man who discovered her daughter stays on the school bus longer than the other kids.

This account is inspired by our reader’s story and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com