I Met a Lonely Little Boy with a Baby in Stroller Buying Clothes on the Flea Market

I Met a Lonely Little Boy with a Baby in Stroller Buying Clothes on the Flea Market – I Decided to Follow Him

As Edison walks through a weekend flea market, he sees a young boy with a stroller and a sleeping baby inside. As he follows the boy, he finds them entering a dilapidated house. Unable to stop himself, Edison intervenes, trying to ensure the safety of the boy and the baby while trying to remain objective.

“Look at these vintage globes, sir!” a vendor said, trying to catch my attention. “They’re in great quality! Some of them open at the middle, and you can stash things inside.”

Antique globes on a shelf | Source: Midjourney

I laughed at the man, wondering what would fit into the tiny space inside these objects.

It was just another typical Saturday morning, and I was meandering through the flea market, searching for hidden treasures and eating my way through a bagel.

A person holding a bagel sandwich | Source: Midjourney

“No,” I said, brushing the man off. “I’m good, thank you!”

I made my way through the antique wooden boxes next, taking photos of them for my mother, but something unusual caught my eye.

A young boy, no more than twelve or thirteen, dressed in tattered clothes, was buying baby clothes from one of the stalls. Next to him was a stroller with a baby sleeping peacefully.

“Where are your parents?” I asked, approaching him.

A sleeping baby in a stroller | Source: Midjourney

The boy froze, eyes wide with fear. Suddenly, he snatched my phone and hurled it into the crowd.

I ran to retrieve it; as a lawyer, my phone was full of confidential information, and I couldn’t afford for anyone to get to it.

But the moment I turned away, the boy was already slipping away through the crowd, pushing the stroller with force.

“Hey! Wait!” I shouted, but he was off.

A boy running away | Source: Midjourney

“He’s been coming here often,” the old woman selling the used baby clothes said. “He always comes from that direction. Just follow the path, and you should find him. Help them. The baby is too young to be on the street.”

“What?” I asked her, wanting to hear more, but she was already busy with people browsing her stall.

I decided to follow him from a distance. Even though he had taken off, I figured I could follow the path as the woman said.

For about ten minutes, I tailed the boy through winding streets until he reached a dilapidated abandoned house.

A dilapidated and abandoned house | Source: Midjourney

“What is going on?” I muttered under my breath.

The place was a wreck, with signs of an old fire and general neglect that had taken over the house.

I watched through the window as the boy wheeled the stroller into the living room, and struggled to light a fire in a coal pot in the middle of the room.

My eyes scanned the room, trying to find an adult. Finally, I saw a man lying on the floor.

That was it.

“What’s going on here?” I demanded, stepping inside.

A man sleeping on the floor | Source: Midjourney

The boy jumped, knocking over the thin long metal pole he used to stoke the fire. The man stirred awake, jolted by my voice.

“Are you their father?” I continued. “Why are they living like this? Are you hurt? I’m a lawyer, sir. I can have you stripped of your parental rights. This isn’t an environment for children!”

“Please, don’t call the police or social services,” the man pleaded, sitting up with difficulty. “I can explain.”

“Explain? This is child neglect!” I shot back.

A man holding his face | Source: Midjourney

“These kids aren’t mine,” he said, nodding to the boy. “This is Dylan, and the baby is Simon. Their parents abandoned them weeks ago, and somehow Dylan ended up finding this house.”

“And you’ve been living here?” I asked.

The man nodded.

A close-up of a man with a beard | Source: Pexels

“My name is Joe,” he said. “I’ve been here for a few months. I lost my job working as a cleaner in a supermarket. There was a robbery, and the person behind it blamed me. There wasn’t any way to prove my innocence, so I was sent packing. The boys have been with me since they arrived.”

“I’m scared that Simon and I will be separated,” Dylan said. “So, Joe has been caring for us.”

A young boy | Source: Midjourney

“But you cannot live like this,” I said. “You need proper food and care, and a place to sleep. Simon needs more than that. What, he’s a year old? Younger? He cannot survive like this.”

Joe sighed.

“Look, man. I grew up in shelters and foster homes. My childhood was a nightmare. Given the choice, I’d pick these living conditions any day. That’s why I didn’t call social services or try to take these kids in.”

I glanced at Dylan, who was listening intently, holding Simon protectively.

A close-up of a little boy | Source: Midjourney

“And you’re okay with this? There’s no heat in here, and where does the baby sleep? In the stroller?” I asked the boy.

He nodded slowly, a sad smile forming on his face.

“Better than foster care,” he whispered.

“Joe, what exactly do you do to help them?” I asked, softening my tone and trying to fully grasp the situation.

“I share my food, any money I get from odd jobs, and I teach Dylan. He’s a smart boy. We find books at the library or sometimes people give us books at the flea market,” Joe replied.

A man eating a sandwich | Source: Pexels

But despite their reasoning, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was wrong. These boys needed proper care. They needed nutritious food, and I couldn’t tell what state the baby was in.

“I’m going to look around, okay, Joe?” I asked, moving away from the living room.

In the next room, I dialed the police.

They arrived quickly, social services tagging along. The children were taken away, down the hallway of the dilapidated house. Dylan’s eyes were filled with betrayal.

A man holding his head | Source: Midjourney

“I should have broken your phone,” he said.

“This is for the best,” I said, trying to make myself believe it too.

About two weeks later, my secretary buzzed in.

“Edison,” she said. “There’s a man named Joe here to see you.”

I stepped into the hallway, and there was Joe, looking cleaner and more determined than ever.

A man sitting at his desk | Source: Pexels

“I want to visit the boys, sir,” he said. “I tried, but they won’t let me because I’m homeless. I want to change my life. I’ve found a job, cleaning the library by day and cleaning at the gas station by night.”

I was taken aback.

“I want to become their guardian. With the right help, I’ll be able to do that.”

“You’re serious about this?” I asked.

A mop and a bucket in a library | Source: Midjourney

“I am,” he said. “I’ve grown to love them. It’s been horrible without them lately. The silence has been suffocating in the old house.”

I had to admit that I was moved. I didn’t expect Joe to be so caring toward the boys, especially given the circumstances.

“Why don’t you work for me?” I asked him. “We need a cleaner in the office and someone to take over maintenance here. Would you be interested? The hours will be normal, and the wages will be basic but constant.”

A person cleaning | Source: Unsplash

Joe nodded, clearly overwhelmed.

In the next few weeks, Joe proved his dedication. He devoured the law textbooks that I gave him and worked tirelessly.

With my help, he managed to meet the boys a few times, assuring Dylan that he would always come back.

“I’m just getting my life together, my boy,” he told Dylan when Joe and I went for a supervised visit, taking new clothes and school textbooks for Dylan.

A pile of clothing | Source: Midjourney

“And you’ll come back?” Dylan asked.

Joe nodded.

Months later, Joe was finally back on his feet. He managed to get all his documents in order and enrolled in college.

“I’ll pay for it,” I told him. “You just focus on juggling work and college and giving the boys a home. When this is over, we’ll get Dylan and Simon back where they belong.”

Now, Joe is on his way through college, with hopes of attending law school. He rents a little apartment and is fighting to become the boys’ guardian.

A cozy little apartment | Source: Midjourney

What would you have done?

Family Leaves Their Dog At A Parking Lot, He Spends Weeks Waiting For Them

A heartbreaking story comes from Southern California, where a tiny gray-and-white dog was spotted lying in a school parking lot next to the school’s shrubs.

She was waiting for her family who abandoned her to come back, refusing to leave that very spot, and hiding from anyone who wanted to help her.

Weeks went by, but no one claimed this dog, nor did anyone come back for her. She was all alone in this world, still not realizing that her previous owners are no longer her family…

Little Doggo Girl Was Inclined To Wait For Her Hoomans To Come Back

Despite the fact that no one came back for her for fifteen days, this little dog girl refused to budge from the parking lot shrubs. She was inclined to wait for as much as she needed to for her family to come back.

a dog sits by the sidewalk and waits for its owner

Many people tried to help her, sharing her photos online in hopes of finding her family, but no one ever claimed her. And, even when someone would try to approach her directly, she’d always hide, until one day, a woman named Suzette Hall came by.

Suzette Made Sure The Dog Got A Fresh Start

Source: @logans_legacy29

Suzette is the founder of the Logan’s Legacy animal rescue in Irvine, California. When she came across the dog’s story, she had no doubts about helping her. Suzette drove herself to the school and searched for this doggo.

“For 15 days, there she was in the morning, afternoon, and then the night. Neighbors tried to help her, but she was too scared. I know she believed if she stayed there, they would come back for her. Loyal little girl,” she wrote.

As she was extremely fearful and shy, Suzette decided to set a humane trap with a hot dog in it. Even though this pup wasn’t exactly starved as she was fed by kibble, Suzette chose the right food to lure her in!

When she finally got her, the doggo girl was frightened and panicky, but she eventually calmed down and fell asleep in Suzette’s car. She decided to name the dog “Scarlet”.