Girl Makes Cardboard Wings to Help Orphan Boy Meet Mom in Heaven, Next Day He Goes Missing — Story of the Day

A little girl is heartbroken for her orphaned friend and decides to make him cardboard wings to help him get to heaven. The next day he disappears.

When Sienna Warson was six years old, her parents moved from Denver, Colorado to Portland, Oregon and she left all her little friends behind. It was hard for Sienna, she had never felt so lonely in her life.

In Denver, she had her friends, her grandparents, her cousins, her aunts, and her uncles. In Portland, she had her parents and no one else. Sienna loved her parents, but she needed a friend. Fortunately, she found one.

Sienna's family moved to Portland and she had no friends. | Source: Unsplash

On her first day at her new school, Sienna met Theo. She noticed him because he was sitting in a corner by himself during break and he looked pretty much how Sienna felt: lost, confused, and lonely.

So she walked over and sat down next to him. The two sat for a long time, neither talking until finally, Sienna said, "I don't have any friends."

"I don't have any mommy," Theo replied and burst into tears. Sienna was horrified. Her little heart ached for this pale, thin boy.

"I'm sorry," she said, taking his hand. "What happened to your mommy?"

Theo wiped his face with the back of his hands and stared at Sienna. "No one ever asks me that," he said, astounded. "People don't ever want me to talk about my mommy."

Sienna saw a sad boy sitting in the corner. | Source: Pexels

"Well," Sienna said. "I love my mom, and if I didn't have her anymore, talking about her would make me feel better...I guess that's why I asked."

Theo's face brightened. "She was the best mom! But sometimes I'm scared I'm going to forget her..." he said. "Like sometimes it's hard to remember her face without a photo."

Sienna took Theo's hand and squeezed it gently. "That's why they invented photos, you know?" she consoled him. "So we can remember people when they are far away."

"I miss her," Theo whispered miserably. "She's gone to heaven, my gran told me so, and she's never coming back. I don't understand. Why won't she come back?"

Sienna thought about this. "I guess maybe once you go to heaven and have wings you can't come back."

"Maybe she doesn't want to," Theo whispered. "Maybe she doesn't love me anymore."

Theo's mother had passed away. | Source: Unsplash

"Nonsense!" Sienna said in a sharp voice (the same voice her mom used when telling her off). "Moms love their children more than anything, more than heaven! If she could come back she would."

"Then I wish I could go to HER!" Theo said. "But I don't have wings."

"Listen, I read this book once," said Sienna excitedly. "It was about this guy with a funny name who made some wings for his son..."

"Really?" gasped Theo. "And did they work?"

"Yes," Sienna said. "But the son was silly, instead of flying to Heaven he flew to the sun and his wings melted and he fell."

"I would never do that!" said Theo virtuously.

Theo wanted some wings so he could fly to heaven. | Source: Pexels

An inkling of an idea unfolded in Sienna's imagination. "WE could build some wings!" she cried. "Then you could go see your mom in heaven!"

Theo looked at Sienna doubtfully. "I'm not good at things like that," he said. "My gran says I'm all thumbs!"

"That's alright!" said Sienna triumphantly. "I'm great at arts and crafts and gluing and building things! I'll make the wings for you!"

That night, Sienna started looking at the materials she had available for building Theo's wings. Fortunately, her parents had a big new freezer delivered that day, and Sienna begged to keep the cardboard box. It was HUGE and the cardboard was strong and thick. It would make amazing wings!

Over the next few weeks, Sienna spent every spare moment working on Theo's wings. She painted them all over with bright feathers so the gatekeeper in heaven would think Theo was an angel and let him in, and she made a harness with elastic she 'borrowed' from her mom's sewing box.

Sienna made Theo special wings to fly to heaven. | Source: Unsplash

When she presented the wings to Theo, she was delighted to see his expression. His eyes grew wide with admiration and his mouth hung open. "WOW!" he gasped. "WOW!"

"Nice, aren't they?" asked Sienna proudly. "And I made them all by myself!"

Theo touched the wings with a respectful finger. "I'll see my mom for sure!" he whispered. "Thank you!"

Sienna gave Theo a big hug. "Don't try them without me, OK?"

Theo vowed that he would wait for Sunday to try out his wings, and took them home with him to show his grandmother.

But the next day, Theo wasn't at school. Sienna asked the teacher where he was. "I don't know, honey," the teacher said worriedly. "His grandmother didn't call..."

As soon as school let out and her mom came to fetch her, SIenna begged her to take her to Theo's house. Seeing her little girl so worried, Sienna's mom agreed.

There was no one at Theo's house, and no one answered the door. Sienna burst into tears. "He went to heaven by himself!" she cried. "Maybe he fell and it's all my fault!"

Sienna was very upset when Theo disappeared. | Source: Unsplajh

Sobbing, she told her mom the story about the wings. Mrs. Warson was a sensible woman, so she calmed Sienna down and knocked on a neighbor's door and asked about Theo's grandmother.

The neighbor explained that Theo's grandmother had a stroke and was rushed to the hospital. Since there was no other family, Theo had been handed over to Child Services.

Sienna started crying harder than ever. "Theo is all alone, mom!" she cried. "We have to save him!"

That night, Sienna didn't sleep and cried constantly, imagining Theo in a strange house surrounded by people he didn't know. This went on for several days until Sienna's dad decided to take action.

Mr. and Mrs. Warson and Sienna went to child services and said that they were friends of the family and wanted Theo to stay with them until his grandmother was well.

The social worker was hesitant, but Theo was just as miserable as Sienna had imagined and refused to eat, so she reluctantly agreed.

Theo's grandmother was taken to the hospital. | Source: Unsplash

Theo came to stay with Sienna and her parents until his gran was well. He quickly started eating again, and he stopped crying. He explained that he hadn't used the wings. He was waiting for the right time.

"But if you go to heaven," Sienna said. "I won't see you again.."

"What if I shared my mom with you?" asked Sienna "She's a nice mom, even if she does get a bit grumpy sometimes. And she makes great pancakes!"

"You think she'd tuck me in?" asked Theo. "That's what I miss the most..."

"Let's ask her!" Sienna cried.

Sienna and Theo became brother and sister. | Source: Pexels

The two children went to Mrs. Warson and asked her if she minded being shared and tucking in and kissing an extra child every night. Mrs. Warson burst into tears and told them she had plenty of kisses to go around.

When Theo's grandmother left the hospital two months later, she was very frail, so the Warsons decide to take her in too. Theo's grandmother allowed the Warsons to adopt Theo and they all became a big family.

What can we learn from this story?

• If losing a loved one is devastating to an adult, it is even more difficult for a child. Theo was struggling to come to terms with losing his mom, and Sienna helped by being willing to listen and offering him hope.
• Families are built on love, kindness, and compassion -- not biology. The Warsons opened their hearts to Theo and his grandmothers and it enriched their lives.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a little boy who is worried that his recently deceased father will be afraid of the dark, so he takes a candle to his grave.

This story is inspired by the everyday lives of our readers 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.