I learned that I wanted my future wife to become my sister. The truth turned up 15 years later…
I had problems with my immune system since I was a child, and I often fell sick. But sadly, that wasn’t the only problem I had to face as a kid.
The children in my school and neighborhood often bullied me and mocked me for my poor health. “Look who’s here! It’s sick Patrick the prick!” they would often say.
One day, their bullying crossed the line. I was barely a few minutes away from getting to school when four boys surrounded me. They took me to the river behind our school and started forcing me to dive into the water.
As a doctor, I strongly advise you to take a dip in the river, Patrick! It will help you with your poor health,” the boy named Mark said.
I was terrified. “Please don’t do it, guys! I can’t swim.”
Mark smirked. “Then this would be good for you! This is your chance to learn!”
The other guys began laughing and lifted me to toss me into the river, but then, out of nowhere, a rock landed on Mark’s head. The boys left me and dashed over to Mark.
“Are you okay, Mark?” one of the boys asked him.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Mark replied. “But who dared to do that? Who the hell is that coward hiding and throwing stones at us?” he screamed.
Suddenly, a young girl came out from behind the tree. “It’s me, you loser! Leave that guy alone, or you’re getting another stone on your head!” she threatened the guys.
Mark was terrified when he saw her. “Oh God, it’s this insane girl again! Don’t mess with her, guys,” Mark warned as he and the boys bolted.
After they left, I thanked the girl, Lana, for helping me, and since that day, we started hanging out together. But after a while of being friends with her, I discovered she was always alone. She never spoke about her family or her friends.
One day, when mom came to pick me up from school, she saw Lana with me. She casually asked Lana if her mother was going to pick her up too. Lana’s eyes welled up with tears, and she told us she didn’t have parents before running away.
Does she really have no family?” Mom asked me when we reached home.
I didn’t know if Lana was an orphan or not, but I liked her so much that I asked mom to adopt her. “She wouldn’t feel alone in our family, mom. Why don’t we just adopt her?” I suggested.
Well, this idea seriously interested my mother. She had always dreamed of having a daughter, but after my birth, the doctor had told her she couldn’t have more children.
So the next day, mom and I visited Lana’s house. We rang the doorbell and were welcomed by a woman at the doorstep. “Hello, how may I help you?” the woman asked my mom.
“Hi, we’re looking for an orphan girl. Her name is Lana,” my mom said. “Are you her caretaker?”
The woman was shocked. “She’s not an orphan; she’s my daughter!” she told us
We were stunned. It turned out that Lana had a mother who worked at the city hospital. Lana’s mother didn’t have enough time for her, and her dad had passed away before her birth. That’s why the girl was always alone.
Strangely, Lana stopped spending time with me after that day. I went to her house sometimes, but she refused to play or hang out with me. A week later, she and her mother moved away we’d had no contact with Lana since then.
As I grew older, I decided to pursue a career as a professional football player for a popular college team. My health concerns were no longer an issue, but there were campus activists who were against providing money and benefits to college sports teams.
During one of our college matches, I witnessed a large mob of students led by a young lady, protesting outside the stadium. She was yelling at the top of her lungs, “Stop wasting money on sports! Think about our future too!”
She was really aggressive, and I spotted her posting anti-sports posters all around campus, including in our locker room, for several days.
Once, after a training day, I saw her again, but this time with a strange guy. “It’ll be good for you if you stop the protests,” he was threatening her. “Or else, be ready to face the consequences!”
But the girl wasn’t scared of him. “I’m not afraid of you!” she told him in a firm voice.
The man took a step forward and began clenching his fist. I swung my ball at the man and yelled at him to stop threatening her.
The man gave me a serious look. “Why are you taking her side when she’s against your team?”
I glared at him. “That’s none of your business. Just get lost!”
The man finally left, but the girl was surprised that I’d helped her even though she was protesting against sports. I smiled at her and told her that someone had helped me as a kid and taught me to help others in need.
You might find this very cheesy, but after this entire incident, we started dating. Her name was Lizzy. She also started coming to all my football matches to support me instead of protesting.
As time went on, I fell in love with her and decided to propose to her. But first, I needed to introduce her to my parents, so I invited her home for dinner.
For some reason, my mom couldn’t take her eyes off Lizzy throughout the evening. And as we finished eating, she asked her, “Sorry, but what did you say your full name was?”
“It’s Lizzy Mathew,” Lizzy answered.
And what do your parents do, Lizzy?” Mom asked.
“Well, my mom’s a doctor, and my dad passed away before I was born. We are from this city, but we had to leave for some reason,” she replied.
By any chance, do you remember a young boy who you’d helped as a child?” Mom asked, baffled.
“Because I was a child at the time, Mrs. Miles, I don’t recall exactly what happened. But I remember a lady once wanted to adopt me after I helped her son. Apparently, I went about telling people I was an orphan since my mother didn’t have time for me,” Lizzy giggled and continued.
Mom was shocked. “Oh Patrick, she’s the girl you wanted to join our family. You wanted her to be your sister! And after 15 years, here you are in love!” mom said.
It turned out my girlfriend was none other than Lana, who we wanted to adopt 15 years back. Lana was just her nickname. My mom learned about it while talking to Lana’s mom when we had visited her house.
I was shocked too, but it didn’t matter to me. After all, I’d always wanted Lana to be a part of our family; the only difference was that she’d be my wife. I got down on my knees and proposed to her. Lana replied with a yes, and one year later, we got married.
What can we learn from this story?
- We don’t meet people by accident. There’s always a reason. For Lana and Patrick, it was because they were destined to be together.
- Matches are made in heaven. Even though Lana moved away from Patrick when she was a child, they ended up together.
