Officer Daniel received an unusual call from the local residents. A bear family had wandered into the town, causing a bit of chaos as they attempted to cross a busy road. Concerned citizens watched from a distance, worried about the safety of both the bears and the drivers. Without a moment’s hesitation, Officer Daniel rushed to the scene, his police car’s siren wailing as he navigated through the traffic. When he arrived, he found the bear family: a mother bear and her four adorable cubs. They seemed bewildered by the unfamiliar surroundings and the rush of cars passing by. When Officer Daniel finally arrived at the scene, he immediately knew he needed to help this family of bears. He already had a plan, but he knew he had to be very careful: bears could be dangerous sometimes, and he didn’t want to get hurt. He slowly got out of his car and he noticed the mother bear didn’t take her eyes off him. She kept looking at him all the time, making sure that he was not going to hurt her or one of her babies. Luckily, she did not make any attempts to attack him… When Officer Daniel finally helped the bears cross the road, he thought that was it and the bears would leave. But in the following days, something very unexpected happened… What happened after the bears crossed the road? What did they do? And where did they go? “Thank you for calling. I’ll drive over there right away!”, Officer Daniel said as he put down the phone. He just received another call about those bears – this must be the fifth already today, and he had just sharted his shift! He decided to finally go there and check it out. All the calls were about the same bear family, trying to cross the road at a spot about 10 minutes away from the station. It wasn’t extremely unusual to see bears in this area since there was a lot of nature and forests, but usually, they remained hidden and stayed out of sight as much as possible. However, these bears were different. They were obviously trying to cross the road, which was very unusual, and they probably weren’t used to the sounds of cars, so they were a bit frightened because of it. This road was especially used by many trucks, so it could get very loud sometimes. Officer Daniel had always been fond of animals, no matter how big or small, and he was determined to help these bears. He asked his colleague to watch the phone for a couple of hours and radio him if anything important came up while he was out. His days usually consisted of handing out speeding and parking tickets and checking out various complaints about noisy neighbors and loitering. Today’s task was something else entirely, and he already enjoyed it. Besides, even though he lived in a rural area with many wild animals, he had never seen a bear up this close. He was kind of excited! He hopped in his car and drove straight to the location the callers had given him. As soon as he turned onto that street, he spotted the bears from a distance. It was one big bear, which he assumed was the mother, and four smaller ones: her cubs! The cubs looked only a few months old and Officer Daniel couldn’t help but smile at the sight of them. They were hopping around in the grass next to the road and they occasionally ran up to each other and playfully rolled around on the ground. He slowly approached the bears and parked his car on the side of the road, keeping his distance from them. He knew that bears could be very dangerous if they wanted to, and he didn’t want to piss off the mother bear – she would do anything to protect her babies. He just sat in his car and watched them for a while, observing their behavior. The mother bear was very careful and made sure she and her cubs did not get too close to the street. Every once in a while, it became quiet for a few seconds, and that’s when she took her chances… She slowly made her way onto the street, step by step, her cubs following in line. But every time, before the family could make it even halfway across the road, the noise of a car disrupted the silence and the mother bear quickly ran back, pushing her cubs with her. And this repeated itself several times. Even though the cars were still far away at the moment the mother bear heard them and she still had plenty of time to cross the road without getting hurt, they scared her enough to immediately retreat and go back to safety. After about fifteen minutes, Officer Daniel had seen enough. One thing was clear: he had to do something to help the bear family. If he didn’t, they might never cross this road, or even worse… they could get badly hurt! Luckily, he knew exactly what to do. However, he knew he had to be careful. Even though these bears did not look aggressive, he did not want to get too close to them. He had to get out of his car if he wanted to help them, and he had to admit it did make him a bit nervous. It was very dangerous… He took a few deep breaths as he looked at the bears and he gave himself a little pep talk. “I got this! She is afraid and wants to take care of her cubs, and I will help her. She won’t hurt me! Opening the door in 3… 2… 1…” He reached for the handle and pulled it toward him, hearing the lock click open. He very, very slowly pushed the door open, trying not to draw any attention to himself, but before he even fully opened the door, all the bears had already spotted him. The cubs looked at him for a few seconds, but then they went back to playing in the grass and didn’t really pay any attention to him anymore. The mother bear, however, didn’t take her eyes off him. Officer Daniel’s heart was beating in his chest, but he knew he had to help that poor bear. He just hoped she would see that he was there to help her, not to hurt her or her cubs. He told himself, “It’s okay, I can do this,” and he slowly set one foot on the ground outside of his car. The whole time, he held eye contact with the mother bear. He turned to his left a bit and now also put his other foot on the ground, but he didn’t dare to stand up yet. He took a few deep breaths and finally pushed himself up, out of the car. He was outside now, and he suddenly felt very exposed. The bear was still looking at him… However, she didn’t really move. She stood in place and closely watched every movement Officer Daniel made. He couldn’t explain it, but he slowly got the feeling that she wasn’t going to hurt him. He somehow felt like she knew he was there to help her. Of course, he could never be one hundred percent sure that this was really the case. He left the car door open, so he could run back inside quickly if he needed to, and he slowly walked backward to the trunk, still facing the family of bears, not taking his eyes off the mother. Cars were still passing him every few seconds, but he didn’t even notice them anymore. He was completely focused on his current assignment, and he forgot about the rest of the world for a second. It was just him and the family of bears right now! Step by step, he shuffled to the trunk of his car and he finally grabbed the handle, clicking it open. In here was everything he needed to help the bears! He made sure to keep an eye on them while he quickly grabbed what he needed from his trunk and shut it again. It was time for action now! He had brought two roadblock signs to temporarily close off the road and prevent any cars from passing this street, giving the bears enough time to safely cross the road and continue their journey. Now, he just had to carry out the second part of his plan: placing the signs on the street. Meanwhile, the mother bear was still looking at him, but she seemed more curious than angry now. She even tilted her head, like she was thinking, “What is this man doing?” At least, that’s what Officer Daniel liked to think. He felt the fear slowly leaving his body, making space for determination and bravery. He grabbed one of the signs and made sure to maintain eye contact with the mother bear while he walked backward a couple of meters, still facing her. When he had finally walked back far enough, he placed the sign on the road, blocking any cars from passing. He was just about to walk back to his car and continue to block the other side of the road when a car slowly approached him and stopped right in front of the sign. A man stuck his head out of the window and started yelling, “Hey, what’s going on here? I need to pass this street!” Officer Daniel sighed and quickly walked over to the car. He needed to make sure this man would go away soon because his yelling might scare away the bears, and they might flee back into the woods. How would they ever be able to cross the street then? He walked over to the man’s window and said, “Sir, please stop yelling. This street will be closed off for just a couple of minutes, it won’t take long. You can wait here or turn around and take another route, the decision is yours to make.” He had actually hoped that this would be enough to send the man away, or at least stop him from being so loud, but of course, it wouldn’t be that easy… He had only taken a few steps away from the car when suddenly, a loud noise filled the street. The man was honking his car! He pressed the horn and didn’t let go of it, and it was incredibly loud. Officer Daniel wasn’t sure of what to do… He really wanted to help the bears, but in order to do that, he needed to get rid of this man first. He sighed, getting irritated now, walked back over to the car and knocked on the window, waiting for the guy to roll it down. He looked back at him with a smug expression on his face, and Officer Daniel could see that he would make this very difficult. He realized that he had two options right now: try to keep this man quiet and send him back, which would definitely take a long time and would also increase the chance of the bears running away, or … give him what he wants and let him pass the sign. Usually, he would definitely not have let this man have his way, especially with his rude behavior. However, helping the bears was his main goal right now, and it was much more important than straightening out a random driver who was, obviously, in a mood. So, he chose the second option. He told the man he could go around the sign this one time, and he hadn’t even finished his sentence when the man stepped on the gas and raced away with slipping tires. “Well, he must be in a hurry,” Officer Daniel thought to himself. Now that this man was gone, he could finally focus on helping out the bears again. However, he realized that it probably wouldn’t take long before another car arrived, and he would have to deal with more annoyed drivers. So, he thought of a better way to block the street. An hour later, everything was finally ready for the bears to cross the road. Officer Daniel had realized that he couldn’t simply close off this part of the road on his own, so he had called some of his colleagues and asked them for help. Not much later, they arrived with even bigger signs, and within only a few minutes, they closed off the entire street. This way, nobody would get stuck halfway and need to change their route, and the bears finally had the safety and quiet they were waiting for. Officer Daniel breathed a sigh of relief, and he was ready to focus on helping the bears again. He did not need to worry about any cars passing by or having to send people away again because they were scaring the bears away. Finally! They had waited long enough. “Okay, momma bear. Let’s get you across this street now,” he said as he stood next to his car. There was nothing left for him to do now, really. He just needed to stay there and wait for the bears to cross the road – that was it. Or, well… That was what he thought. It would all turn out to be more work than he expected. However, he still had no idea about that! He watched as the mother bear carefully approached the side of the road and stepped over the road line with one paw. Her cubs followed closely – they seemed to understand that it was not a good time for games now. Step by step, the bear family slowly crossed the road. There was no traffic, no honking cars or huge trucks, so they finally felt confident and safe enough to continue their journey. Officer Daniel and his colleagues looked at them as they made their way to the other side, and felt kind of proud when they succeeded. However, this wasn’t the end of the story yet! “Yes, they did it!”, some of the officers exclaimed. “We did a good thing today.” They all said goodbye and took away the roadblock signs, opening the road back up again before leaving. Officer Daniel, however, stayed behind to smoke a cigarette – it was his way to unwind after an exciting and little bit stressful day. He looked at the forest as he thought about the bears, and how interesting it had been to just watch them. They were special animals and he was happy to have been able to help them. He was lost in thoughts when suddenly, a weird noise made him jump up a little. He had no idea what it was, but it was a whining noise and it sounded like it was coming from the forest. He pointed his ears and listened to it attentively, and he suddenly jumped up. The bears had JUST walked into that forest, minutes ago. What if something happened to them? He looked around frantically, wanting to check if any of his colleagues were also hearing this noise, but… He was all alone. The others had all left already, and he knew it was no use in calling them to come back. If those bears were in pain or in danger, they needed serious help from a professional. He slowly approached the forest while calling animal control on his phone. When a dispatcher finally picked up, he explained the situation and told her that he believed one of the bears was hurt. “Could you send someone over here to come check it out?”, he asked. “Of course! Let me check the availability of our team…”, the dispatcher said. Officer Daniel waited with bated breath. “Hmm, it looks like everyone is busy right now. I can send two of my colleagues to you, but it could take them up to an hour to get there. Is that alright?” Officer Daniel thought, “NO, it’s not!” If the bears were hurt, they needed help right away. What if they couldn’t wait for an entire hour? Who knows what could happen in sixty minutes… However, he kept this to himself and instead told the dispatcher, “Yes, that would be great. Thank you so much!” He was not going to wait for an entire hour for help to arrive. Deep inside, he knew that he had to go into those woods himself, and see if there was anything he could do for the bears himself – at least until the professionals arrived! He sent the dispatcher his exact location and told his not to worry when he told him, “Whatever you do, Officer, do NOT go near those bears yourself! They might hurt you – you never know how they will react.” Of course, he was going to ignore his advice. He had to admit that he was a little bit nervous as he made his way into the forest, but he felt responsible for the bears. He had spent the whole day helping them to cross the road, after all. If anything bad had happened to them now, he would blame himself for it… The sound had become softer now, but it was still there. It sounded panicked. As Officer Daniel walked deeper into the woods, he also heard something else. Some kind of huffing and puffing, like an animal in distress. The closer he came to the sounds, the more certain he was that they were coming from the bears. The officer realized that he was taking a very big risk by even being there. If the bears were indeed hurt, chances were big that they would attack him. However, his gut told him to keep following the sound, and so that was exactly what he did. After a while, he saw something that made him freeze in his tracks. He spotted the mother bear, and she was pacing around, making the puffing noises he had heard earlier. Something was obviously wrong, but he couldn’t see what it was. She didn’t seem hurt, but he wasn’t sure yet… He hid behind a tree and tried to get a good look at her while, at the same time, making sure she did not see him. Pretty soon, he had determined that the mother bear was doing fine. She was not hurt or wounded. However, she was very much in distress. Officer Daniel was relieved to see that she was fine, but he still felt like something was wrong. She even started growling softly now, and she was very restless. He thought, “Maybe one of her cubs had gotten hurt?” It would certainly be a logical explanation for her behavior… Right? He looked for the cubs and focused on them one by one, each time coming to the conclusion that they were okay, too. They did not seem hurt and there was nothing odd about them, except that they also seemed to be very focused on something that was just outside of the officer’s sight. He couldn’t help but wonder what it was… Against his better judgment, he knew that he couldn’t go home until he knew the full story of what was going on here. Well, he could, but he just didn’t want to. He was invested in this little bear family now, and he wanted to make sure they were doing well. Suddenly, he lost his balance and, in an attempt to keep himself standing and not fall on the ground, he stepped on a twig, and it cracked. Immediately, the bears were silent and they all looked in his direction. Officer Daniel felt his heart beating so hard, he wondered if they could hear that, as well. The silence became so loud, and slowly but surely, the mother bear approached him. She must have picked up on his scent because she came straight to him. The officer was getting ready to try to climb a tree – which he hadn’t done in years, so he would probably fail – or run for his life, but… The bear did not attack him. She was looking right at him, albeit from a distance, but she had definitely seen him. If she wanted to attack him, she’d be growling or showing any other sign of aggression, Officer Daniel thought. And he was right! The bear softly grunted as she walked back to her cubs, and she kept looking back at the officer over her shoulder as if to make sure that he was following her. He could not believe what was happening, and he thought he was definitely misinterpreting it… However, at one point, the mother bear stopped walking and just stood still, looking at the officer, still softly grunting. He decided to take the risk – like he’d done so many times that day already – and follow her, and immediately, it became clear that that was indeed what she wanted him to do. He stayed at a safe distance behind her, keeping her eyes on her and following her every move. If she decided to attack him after all, he would be ready to run right away. However, nothing like that happened. She didn’t want to attack him – she just wanted his help… When Officer Daniel finally came close enough and saw what had upset the bears so much, he gasped. “Oh, no!”, he whispered. He hadn’t even noticed it before, but he had only counted three cubs instead of four… And he had just found the fourth one. It had fallen into a hole in the ground, and it couldn’t climb out. It was stuck! The mother bear was unable to help it get out, and Officer Daniel realized that he was going to have to do it. Well, he could also wait for animal control to arrive… But he really wanted to help the bears himself. He slowly approached the hole, closely watching the mother bear’s reaction. It was a nerve-racking moment… She was silent now, just watching him, and the cub that had fallen into the hole was still whining. “It’s okay, buddy. I’m getting you out of there,” Officer Daniel softly said. Some moments later, when he finally came close enough to the hole, he sat down on his knees, bent over, carefully grabbed the cub, and almost threw it towards its mother. He did not want her to think that he was going to take her baby away! However, the mother bear did not seem to be feeling threatened by him at all. She started licking the cub and she seemed very content to have him back again. Officer Daniel stood there, not moving, just taking it all in. It was beautiful to see! After a while, the mother bear got up and pushed her cubs to their feet. It was time for them to continue their journey. They slowly made their way deeper into the forest, and just before Officer Daniel lost sight of them, the mother bear turned around and looked at him. He didn’t care how crazy it sounded – he was one hundred percent sure that she was thanking him for what he had done… He still couldn’t believe what had just happened. It was a very special day in his life that he would never forget about! Just a couple of minutes later, his phone rang. It was animal control, calling to tell him that they were on their way. Officer Daniel smiled, and he told them, “Thank you, but that won’t be necessary anymore. It was just a false alarm.” They wouldn’t believe him if he told them the truth, anyway! Woman Wears Her Mother’s Old Ring For 25 Years – When Jeweller Sees It He Tells Her This For twenty-five years, Lydia wore the ring on her finger, feeling a deep connection to her mother every time she looked at it. The ring became a symbol of love and a tangible reminder of the bond they shared. One day, Lydia decided to take her beloved ring to the local jeweler, Mr. Reynolds, for a small reparation. Mr. Reynolds, with a careful eye, examined the ring, turning it over and inspecting it under a magnifying glass. As he did, a perplexed expression crossed his face, his brow furrowing in confusion….. He looked up at Lydia and said, “I’m sorry, but this ring shouldn’t be in your possession. It’s not meant for you to have.” Lydia was completely stunned. She explained how her mother’s precious ring had broken and prayed that Mr. Reynolds would be able to fix it. But instead of thinking about the reparation, Mr. Reynolds closely inspected the ring and seemed to have a look of recognition in his eyes. Then he knew… He had seen this ring before, and when he revealed to Lydia where this was, her jaw dropped. Her mother had lied to her all this time. She could not believe it, but there was no doubt he was telling the truth… But what did the jeweler reveal to Lydia? What was the true story behind the ring, and how would it turn Lydia’s life upside down? Lydia is now happily married to John. They live a somewhat regular life, but they do struggle a bit financially. They can make ends meet, but the pair has to work relatively hard. And for Lydia, this has not been the only big struggle she has had to deal with in her life. Lydia has had a difficult life. She was an only child and had a very good relationship with her mother, Sara, because they always had to do everything together. Her father had never really been in the picture, and this had a pretty big effect on Lydia when she was young. Lydia had never even met her biological father. He had left her mother when he found out she had gotten pregnant. He and Sara were a couple at the time, but unwed, so it was easy to walk away from the family without consequences. Lydia had never forgiven him for this… Lydia’s whole childhood felt like a battle she fought alongside her mother. While she was in school, her mother worked two jobs in order to provide for them, and when Lydia was old enough, she managed to get a job as well to fill up her free hours in the week. It might have been a struggle every day, but the pair seemed to make it work. For a long time, it felt like all they had in the world was each other, and this created an incredibly strong bond between them. Sara didn’t feel the need to look for a new husband or boyfriend. Not that she even had the time. Lydia, however, did find the time for a little bit of romance in her life. She met her boyfriend, John, on the job, and they started to really connect with each other quickly. They were only together for a couple of months but already had big plans. But a big test for their relationship was just around the corner… Lydia and Sara were both saving up as much money as they could. This was all to give Lydia a chance to move out of the house when she was ready. Sara wanted nothing more than to give her only child the best life possible. But then the unthinkable happened… Sara suddenly got very sick when Lydia was around 24 years old. Doctors found it difficult to determine what exactly was wrong with her, and Sara’s condition quickly went downhill. Their lives were crashing down around them. All of their savings had gone to Lydia’s treatment. But sadly, it didn’t seem to matter. The doctors tried everything they could, but somehow, Sara’s body refused almost all the medication needed for her condition. Lydia had a very difficult choice to make. They could perform a very dangerous operation on her mother with a success rate of only ten percent, or she could let her mother go peacefully. Lydia decided not to do the operation. She knew her mother never liked being operated on, so if that would be her last moment alive, she would find that horrible. The doctors respected her decision and vowed to keep searching and trying new kinds of medication. But it was all in vain.  After only a few weeks, it was clear that Sara was not going to make it through. Because the doctors had been unable to determine what she was suffering from, all they could do was treat the symptoms and make Sara more comfortable. Lydia had to say goodbye to her mother and best friend. It was extremely hard for Lydia to get through this period. She had to take care of a lot of things being the only child and the only family member that really seemed to care. Sara had not been in close contact with other family members as she felt they never tried to help when she was struggling. With so much weight on Lydia’s shoulders, it was a miracle that she did not crack under the pressure. The main reason she managed to make it through was with a lot of help from her boyfriend, John. He had been there every step of the way, and it made them even closer than before. After her mother had passed away, a lot of things had to be taken care of. The funeral was the first thing that had to be organized. It was a sober goodbye with only a small gathering. It was an open casket, and the moment Sara’s sister saw her, she made a comment that would turn a lot of heads. Sara’s sister noticed that she was not wearing the ring she always had on. Lydia had not even thought about this in all the craziness. But now it was too late to even go looking for it. In the grand scheme of things, it just didn’t seem that important. Lydia had no idea how wrong she would be about this… Sara’s sister tried to make a big deal about her not wearing the ring, but luckily for Sara, the other family members interfered. They recognized how insignificant it was to fight about something so small on an already very sad day. Lydia was glad that the other family members backed her up, but it didn’t make her feel much better about that day. Even though it was a sober ordeal, Lydia did manage to say goodbye to her mother in a satisfying way. She was still distraught by the whole situation, but she was starting to make peace with it a little bit. She was, however, not prepared for everything that was about to happen next… After the funeral, the next major thing that had to be taken care of was the inheritance. Sara was not rich in the slightest bit, and before her passing, she had documented that everything she owned would be left to Lydia. And there was one thing Lydia did really want to find. The comment made at the funeral about her mother’s ring had stuck with her. Ever since then, Lydia knew she had to find it, as it was probably the item that had the most sentimental value to her. Sara had worn it nearly every day. But finding it was turning out to be more of a burden than a blessing.  Lydia looked everywhere, under the couch, in Sara’s bed, she even called the hospital to check if they had it stored somewhere, but it was all in vain. As long as the house was still packed with Sara’s belongings, finding the ring would be nearly impossible. So, she decided to sell some things.  Sara didn’t own a house; she just rented it. And she barely had any money saved. Even less than Lydia had expected. All of Sara’s money had either already gone into Lydia’s pocket in order to help her move out, or to all the treatment she needed in her final weeks. Many of the older items still left in the house, like worn-down furniture and clothing, went to thrift stores. Lydia had no need for most of it. Lydia did find a couple of items she wanted to keep that had some sentimental value. She desperately kept looking for the ring. Finally, she found it! Lydia knew that this ring had a story. Her mother had always told her she had stolen it when she was just a little girl. Apparently, when Sara was only twelve, she had a job cleaning houses for people. This made her a little bit of money that was needed to keep her household going. Most of the homeowners Sara worked for were really nice to her, and thus she enjoyed spending time there while she made her money. But it seemed that one of the women employing her was always really nasty and mean to Sara for no particular reason whatsoever. And not only with her words… She used to hit Sara every time she would do something that was not to her satisfaction. This went on for a couple of months as Sara could not leave at the time. She had no other houses to work at, and she really needed the money. But this treatment started taking its toll on little Sara. She began resenting going to work and would often try to be in different rooms than her boss. It was exhausting for little Sara to constantly look over her shoulder and try to get out of the way of the lady and still do a good job so she wouldn’t be punished.  But during all this, Sara was constantly looking for other work or other places to clean. And when Sara finally had another house to work in, she quickly quit the job, but not before stealing a ring she had found on her last day. It was her way of taking a little bit of revenge. Lydia had always taken this story as the truth and loved it when she was younger. It had made her see her mother as a badass and someone who was not afraid. It was an example she had always wanted to follow. But Lydia would eventually find out that this was not the whole story… Sara had always worn the ring proudly as a reminder of when she stood up for herself, and now Lydia would be wearing it as a reminder of her mother. Almost all other things she kept from Sara either disappeared in drawers and the shed or were sold after a while. Even though Lydia loved the story of the ring, it had always seemed a bit strange and even far-fetched to Lydia. Especially the more she started thinking about it. She never saw her mother as the type to do something against the rules or steal anything. Something wasn’t adding up. Lydia had, of course, only known Sara in a motherly role, so it was not that strange to think Sara might have been very different before she became a mother. Lydia decided not to think about it too much. But the truth can never be hidden forever and would soon be unexpectedly revealed to Lydia… Lydia had to move on with her life. Luckily she still had John. While they probably had the peak months of their relationship in the worst possible time, they did end up staying together and only grew closer through everything that Lydia had to go through. Closer in more ways than one… Not even a year after Sara had passed, the couple had their first child, Sammy. Lydia quickly found out that having a child was the best way to fill the void her mother left in a healthy way. The things she attempted before she got pregnant were a lot less healthy… Lydia had turned to alcohol in the first months after her mother’s passing. It was starting to become a big problem really fast because, to her, it started to feel like the only escape from her thoughts at the time. John got really worried about the situation for a while… Lydia would come home late and drunk and call in sick for work because her hangover was just too much to handle during the day. She was on the verge of losing her job when she got pregnant, and that ultimately saved them, because Lydia knew she had to change.  The pregnancy turned out to be a blessing in more ways than one. Lydia gave up the bottle immediately when she found out she was pregnant because she wanted to take no risks with the baby on the way. But she had to find a new release in the meantime. Lydia had gotten used to turning to alcohol every time a wave of sadness came over her. At this point, even if the sadness was not related to her mother’s passing. Being unable to do so, plus her becoming more and more hormonal during the pregnancy, made her an absolute wreck for months on end. They were some of the toughest months of Lydia’s life, which again had not been easy up to this point anyway. But with the birth of their child, things finally started to look up for the couple. Lydia was able to focus all her attention on raising Sammy, and the need for a drink got less and less because of it. As a replacement for alcohol, Lydia started to work out more and more. It was something she really enjoyed doing, and she thought that it would only have benefits for her. Which it did at first. Lydia was able to see the benefits of getting healthier. But eventually, working out would have an unexpected consequence for Lydia… Over the next couple of years, The life of the family was relatively good. Sammy was growing up in good health, Lydia and John had finally saved up enough money to get married and were still extremely happy together. But just like the rest of Lydia’s life, a big speedbump was about to appear on her path… After so many years, Sammy was grown up and ready to leave the house. It was a moment that Lydia was dreading very much. This is because caring for Sammy had been her main purpose in life for years on end, and she was afraid of what this major change in lifestyle would bring. To clear her mind, Lydia decided to go for a jog that afternoon. She did this often and was in relatively good shape for her age. Thinking back on her alcohol-filled days, she was very proud of how she was living now. But with her head firmly in the clouds, she wasn’t paying enough attention to the path… Lydia tripped on a branch that had fallen out of a tree and was lying on the path now. Lydia had to think in a split second and luckily managed to stick her hand in front of her to cushion her fall. But when Lydia tried to get up, she noticed something that sent a wave of despair through her body… Her mother’s ring, it had broken! The ring was still around her finger, where it had been for the last 25 years now, but it had cracked and was no longer a fully connected piece. Lydia felt tears well up in her eyes and decided to get back home immediately. She was hoping that John would be able to fix it, as he did with almost anything that had broken down in their house. But John wasn’t willing to take the risk with something that was so near and dear to Lydia’s heart. He advised her to take it to a jeweler to get it repaired. Lydia went that same afternoon. It was only a short drive into town, and she had called ahead to the jewelry store and was ensured by them that they could easily fix the broken ring at a relatively cheap price. But Lydia was not prepared for what the jeweler had to tell her upon inspecting the ring… Lydia and John lived in a small town. It was the same town Lydia and her mother had lived in all their lives and where she had met John. The place only had one jeweler who had been operational for all of Lydia’s life and even longer. But Lydia had never actually been inside this store, and suddenly she realized why… Lydia remembered that when she was younger, her mother had always forbidden her from going into the jewelry shop. Lydia had never known why as a kid, but she hadn’t questioned it. As an adult, she’d never had a reason to go to the store anyway because of her financial situation. Lydia was the only customer in the store when she entered, and the jeweler greeted her with a smile on his face. She explained what had happened and gave the employee the ring. He raised an eyebrow when he saw it and proclaimed that he had seen such a ring before, but could not place it. Lydia told him how she had gotten it and how her mother had supposedly gotten it. But when she mentioned at what age her mother had stolen the ring from her employer, the jeweler stopped her and said that it was impossible for that story to be correct. Lydia’s jaw dropped when he explained why. If the story was correct, it would mean that her mother had stolen the ring in 1952. But the techniques that were used to make this ring were only applied past 1968! This was the earliest that this ring could have been produced. Lydia was stunned by what she was being told. The jeweler went on and on about the ring, giving Lydia more details and arguments as to why it was impossible for that ring to be from anywhere near that time period. Then suddenly, while telling his story, the jewelry store employee had a realization and stopped talking. His eyes went wide, and he went to go look for something. He quickly went into the back and took out a small old book. It was a catalog of items they had in the store. But this was a catalog from the year 1968. He looked through a couple of pages and turned the book to Lydia. She could not believe what she was seeing on its pages. It was her mother’s ring! But how? The jeweler proclaimed that this was how he knew the ring. Their store had produced this model, but far before his time. And when he was in the back, he also did some digging through the store’s archives and made a bizarre discovery! This exact ring had been stolen from their store in 1969. He knew that it was this exact ring because the serial number matched up. He looked up at Lydia and said, “I’m sorry, but this ring shouldn’t be in your possession.” Lydia could not believe what she was hearing. Her mother had stolen the ring from this store? But why? And then the realization came to her… 1969 was the year when she was born. Her father had left her mother, and she had already been strapped for cash when he was in the picture. She must have started stealing out of desperation. Sara must have done it for Lydia. But the store clerk had one more thing to say. It was the first positive message of the conversation. He would allow Lydia to keep the ring. The crime happened so long ago that the police wouldn’t do anything about it if he tried. But even if they would, he had no intention of taking the ring away from her. He realized the sentimental value that it had to Lydia was way greater than any monetary value it would have to him. And luckily for Lydia, the jeweler was able to make that call, because it was now his store. He even offered to repair the ring and restore it to its original quality for free. Lydia could not be happier. But she was still left with the question of what else her mother had stolen. And what other secrets she was unaware of. She went home to John with mixed feelings of relief that her ring had been repaired and confusion about her mother. Why would she lie about stealing the ring at a young age instead of telling the truth about stealing the ring to care for her daughter? It was one thing to steal, but to also lie about it? As soon as she got home, she told John what had happened. John was just as stunned as her and even had the same questions. There were still a few belongings of her mother stored away in their attic, and they decided to get them out to check if those could be stolen as well.  Luckily for Lydia, the other items weren’t stolen. Which also was a bit of a relief, because she really didn’t want to remember her mother as a thief. This way, the memory of her mother stayed the same. and she could keep the items without feeling bad about them.  She had to make peace with the fact that there would always be a lot about her mother that she would never know. But what she did know, and actually had always known, is that there was nothing that her mother would not do for her. And knowing that made this ring even more special to her. Lydia went on to live a peaceful rest of her life with John by her side. Their son eventually moved back to his hometown to care for his aging parents. The ring stayed with Lydia till the end of her life and was given to her son to propose to his future wife.