A woman abandoned her newborn baby in a business class airplane seat. She decided to leave him because she feared she wouldn’t be able to care for him. But when her life improved years later, she wanted to find him and take him back.

“PREGNANT?! You must be crazy, Rebeca!” her father, David Hernandez, shouted at her when she told him she was expecting a child with her boyfriend Pedro.

Unlike Pedro, Rebeca came from a wealthy family; her father owned a large textile company. Unfortunately, her mother died when she was only two years old, so her father raised her alone.

Image for illustrative purposes. | Photo: Getty Images
Image for illustrative purposes. | Photo: Getty Images

Mr. Hernandez provided his daughter with the best of everything: clothes, food, and an education. He was a very controlling man who didn’t want Rebecca to go against his wishes.

When the young woman found out she was pregnant, she tried to hide it from her father by wearing clothes that were too big. But as her belly grew, she could no longer conceal it.

She decided to tell her father about her pregnancy, but he didn’t take it well. “You’re going to get rid of that child, Rebecca. Do you understand?”

“No, Dad,” the girl, who was only 16 at the time, retorted. “I won’t terminate the pregnancy. It’s too late now, and I can’t abort the baby.”

“Then you’ll have to figure out how you’re going to raise that child yourself,” Mr. Hernandez warned her. “No one in our family has ever dared to marry someone from the lower class. So, if you want to have that man’s baby, get out of my house!”

“Okay, Dad,” Rebecca said after a brief pause, her eyes filled with tears. “Maybe if Mom were still alive, she would have supported me. But it’s okay. I’ll raise the child on my own and prove you wrong.”

Rebecca packed her belongings and left that night, cutting all ties with her father. Mr. David didn’t move at all and closed the door behind her. He ordered her to return only after she had aborted the child or placed it in an orphanage.

Read also: Years after her father kicked her out, daughter sees him begging and living on the streets – Story of the day

The teenager didn’t say a word and hailed a taxi to go to Pedro’s house. When she arrived, she explained that her father had kicked her out because he refused to accept his son and that she wanted to start a new life with him. But to her surprise, Pedro refused to take responsibility for the child.

“Look, honey,” he said. “I’m not ready to be a father. And why did you leave your father’s house? He could have helped us financially when we got married and decided to start a new life. Get rid of that child or forget about me, Rebecca.”

Image for illustrative purposes. | Photo: Pexels
Image for illustrative purposes. | Photo: Pexels

Rebecca was shocked when she heard that. “But Pedro, this is our baby. How can you…?”

“Look, Rebecca, that baby and you are causing me more problems right now. You know what? Forget about me! It’s over!”

“Pedro!” Rebecca exclaimed, crying. “You were so happy when you found out about the pregnancy! What happened?”

“Because you’re nobody right now, honey. Your dad kicked you out and I can’t raise that kid, so goodbye,” she said and slammed the door in his face.

Rebecca’s life took a dramatic turn overnight! She couldn’t believe she was heavily pregnant and that neither her father nor her boyfriend cared about her! She left Pedro’s house crying uncontrollably and wandered the streets, not knowing where life would lead her.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen and went into labor. The pain was unbearable, and she begged passersby for help. Fortunately, a woman noticed her and, with the help of her driver, put Rebecca in her car and rushed her to the hospital.

Rebeca gave birth to a boy that night and, when she woke up, the woman who had helped her, Angela Bermudez, was sitting next to her bed.

“Thank you, thank you for helping me,” Rebecca said softly. “My son… is safe, right?”

“She’s perfectly fine,” Angela assured her. “Are you new in town? I noticed you had your luggage with you.”

Image for illustrative purposes. | Photo: Pexels
Image for illustrative purposes. | Photo: Pexels

Rebecca couldn’t hold back her tears. She burst into sobs and told the kind woman the story of how she had ended up there. “I don’t want to live here any longer,” Rebecca sobbed. “I just want to leave this city. But I’m not sure I can give my son a good life.”

Angela felt terrible for Rebecca. Not only because she was a homeless mother deciding whether or not to raise her child, but also because she reminded her of her own daughter.

“Don’t say that, dear,” Bermúdez said, while comforting them. “I had a daughter your age. When we found out she was pregnant, we were furious and kicked her out of the house.”

“My husband and I are wealthy. We had the means to support our daughter, but we opposed her pregnancy. I wish I had helped her. She took her own life because she couldn’t bear it all. Now I don’t want anyone else to go through that. It’s a terrible experience.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Rebecca said, wiping away her tears.

“I feel sorry for her too,” Angela added. “However, it’s too late now. Don’t worry, I’ll help you. I can buy you a plane ticket. Make sure your son lives a good life in a new place.”

“Oh, no,” Rebecca exclaimed. “He’s already done so much for me. I’m afraid I won’t be able to repay him.”

“Please,” Angela pleaded. “If I help you, it would be like helping my daughter. And it will help me overcome my guilt.”

Rebecca couldn’t say no to the woman who helped her. She accepted the ticket, and a few days later, she was flying business class, ready to start her life over.

Image for illustrative purposes. | Photo: Pexels
Image for illustrative purposes. | Photo: Pexels

However, while sitting on the plane with her baby in her arms, she was constantly worried about her ability to provide him with a good life.

“What if I can’t take care of my son? What if he ends up living with me on the street?” These thoughts had taken over Rebecca’s mind to the point where she didn’t realize the flight had ended and the pilot announced their arrival at the airport.

Rebecca was terrified at the thought of being alone in a strange city with a newborn and no means to support him. Her mind raced, her heart pounded, anxious to think about what lay ahead for her and her baby.

It was at that moment that she made a painful decision. She decided to leave her baby on the plane, hoping that someone would take him and give him a good life.

She waited until the people in the seats next to her had left, and when she saw that no one was looking, she left her son in the seat, along with a note she had written earlier, and quickly left the plane. It took all her strength not to look back and retrieve her son. She believed it was for the best.

When one of the flight attendants, Lili, approached the seat after the passengers had left, she was surprised to discover the baby. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for the child as she read the note Rebecca had left.

“I am a poor mother who couldn’t take care of her son. Don’t waste your time looking for me if you find this note. I could never have provided him with a good life. I hope you will accept him and cherish him as your own. I would be delighted if you named him Mateo.”

Image for illustrative purposes. | Photo: Pexels
Image for illustrative purposes. | Photo: Pexels

Thirteen years later, after struggling for more than a decade, Rebecca finally found a stable job and was doing well financially. However, not a single day went by that she didn’t regret leaving her son on that plane.

She had lived as a homeless person for almost seven years after moving from her hometown. For a long time, she tried to find a stable income and rent a house. Eventually, things improved for her, and she thought she would be able to give her son everything he wanted.

Of course, she was ashamed of what she had done in the past and feared her son would never accept her. But she decided to risk searching for him and meeting her son for the first and possibly last time. Unfortunately, she was right to fear things would go wrong.

“My mom? You must be joking!” Mateo said when he met him. “Where have you been all these years? I don’t need you! I’m happy with my adoptive parents.”

Rebecca’s eyes filled with tears when the boy said that. The police had helped her find her son after she told them her story.

Initially, she feared she would never find him because he could have been adopted by anyone in the world and given a different name. She was fortunate to begin her search in the same city where he had been abandoned. She found him by the name he had asked for.

He contacted the adoptive mother and explained why he had abandoned him, choosing the name Mateo Hernández for him. It turned out the boy had been adopted by Lili, the flight attendant, and her husband.

The flight attendant hesitated to introduce Mateo to his biological mother after the way she had left him. But she finally agreed to give him a chance to explain himself when she learned what had happened to him.

Image for illustrative purposes. | Photo: Pexels
Image for illustrative purposes. | Photo: Pexels

“I’m sorry, Mateo,” Rebecca said. “I know you’re upset and don’t want to accept me, but can you give me a chance?”

“Absolutely not!” the boy shouted. “You’re a wicked woman who abandoned me. If my parents hadn’t adopted me, I’d be in an orphanage today!”

“But Matthew,” Rebecca said. “I didn’t mean to do that. Won’t you let me explain why I left you?”

Matthew was reluctant to do it, but agreed after his parents persuaded him. Rebecca didn’t tell him about her early pregnancy or how she had been kicked out, because he was only 13. But she did tell him that she was poor and that her father had abandoned her.

Lili went on to explain that it was difficult for Rebeca to provide him with a good life, so she left him. However, Mateo still refused to accept her as his mother. “I can forgive you, maybe,” he said. “But I can’t call you Mom. I only have one mother.”

“Okay,” Rebecca said. “Can I come see you at least on weekends?”

“That’s fine, that doesn’t bother me,” the boy said.

Ten years have passed since that fateful day. Mateo is now 23 and works as a data scientist at a major company. Over time, he forgave Rebecca for what she had done and accepted her as his mother.

Rebecca recently met a man named Andrew at work, and the two have been dating for a month. She wants to marry him, but first she intends to talk to Matthew about it.

Read also: Woman searches for her abandoned son for decades, and one day receives a strange note – Story of the day

Rebecca visited Angela a couple of years ago and the older woman was happy that things had turned out well for her and her son.

Image for illustrative purposes. | Photo: Pexels
Image for illustrative purposes. | Photo: Pexels

What can we learn from this story?

Time heals all wounds: Over time, Matthew realized that Rebecca was not entirely to blame for what happened and forgave her for leaving him.
There’s no point in living in the past: Mateo understood this and decided to give his biological mother a chance.
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This story is inspired by the everyday lives of our readers and was written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to real names or locations is purely coincidental. All images shown are for illustrative purposes only. Share your story with us; it could change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com .