Pauline, a struggling janitor and single mother, wanted nothing more than to bring a smile to her daughter Eve’s face on her birthday. With barely any savings, she found a secondhand doll at a flea market and gifted it to Eve. The joy on Eve’s face made every hardship worth it—until Pauline heard a strange crackling sound coming from the doll.

Curious, she discovered a hidden pocket with a child’s note: “Happy Birthday, Mommy.” Confused, Pauline returned to the market and found the seller, Miriam. The woman broke into tears. The doll had been a gift from her daughter, who died of cancer just days before Miriam’s birthday. Selling her child’s toys was Miriam’s way of healing.

Pauline comforted her, and the two shared their struggles as mothers. Days later, Miriam visited Pauline and Eve with an envelope—$3000. “Please take this,” she said. “A mother knows the pain of not being able to give her child the world.”

Pauline accepted, tears falling freely.

From that day forward, Miriam became like family. She had lost her daughter, but through Pauline and Eve, she found love and healing again.