Rhonda couldn’t say no to Mrs. Bamford at that point. She accepted the ticket and a few days later, she was flying business class from AUS to JFK, ready to start her life all over again.

However, as she sat settled in the plane with her baby in her arms, she was constantly concerned about her ability to provide a good life for him.

“What if I am unable to care for my child? What if he ends up living with me on the streets?” These thoughts had taken over Rhonda’s mind to the point where she didn’t notice the flight was over, and the pilot announced their arrival at JFK.

Rhonda was terrified as she realized she would be alone in a strange city with a newborn and no means to provide for him. Her mind started to spin, her heart pounded, anxious over the thought of what lay ahead for her and her son.

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

She waited for the people in the seats next to her to leave, and when she saw no one was looking, she left her son on the seat, along with a note she had scribbled earlier, and exited the plane quickly. It took all her strength not to look back and snatch her baby back, but she decided it was for the best.

When one of the stewardesses, Lincy, approached the seat after the passengers had left, she was taken aback to discover the baby. She couldn’t help but feel bad for the child as she read the note Rhonda had left with him.

I’m a poor mother who couldn’t care for her child. Don’t waste your time looking for me if you find this note. I would never have been able to provide a good life for him. I hope you accept and cherish him as your own. I’d be delighted if you named him Matthew. Matthew Harris. That was the name I had chosen for him.

13 years later…

After struggling for almost a decade, Rhonda finally found a stable job and was doing well financially. However, there wasn’t a single day when she didn’t regret leaving her son on the flight.

She had struggled as a homeless person for nearly 7 years after moving to NYC, and the remaining seven years had been spent trying to earn a stable income and renting a house. Things had eventually worked out for her, and she thought she’d be able to provide her son with everything he’d want.

She was, of course, ashamed of what she’d done in the past, and she feared her son would never accept her. But she decided to take a chance and meet her boy for the first, and possibly, final time. Unfortunately, she was correct in the sense that things would go wrong.

“My mom? You must be kidding me!” Matthew lashed out at her when she met him. “Where have you been all these years? I don’t need you! I am happy with my adoptive parents.”

Rhonda’s eyes welled up when Matthew said that. She had approached the local police for assistance, telling them her entire story, and luckily, one of the helpful officers had assisted her in locating her son.

Initially, she had feared that she would never find Matthew because he could have been adopted by anyone in the world and given a different name. She was lucky enough to begin her search in New York and find him there by the name she had given him.

She contacted Matthew’s adoptive mother, explaining why she had abandoned him and chosen the name Matthew Harris for him. It turned out the boy was adopted by Lincy, the flight attendant, and her husband. She was hesitant to introduce Rhonda to Matthew after how she’d left him, but she eventually agreed to give her a chance to explain herself upon learning her story.

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

“No way!” the boy yelled. “You are a mean woman who left me all alone. If my parents didn’t adopt me, I’d be in an orphanage today!”

“But Matthew,” Rhonda said. “I didn’t want to do that. Will you not let me explain why I left you?”

Matthew was reluctant to do so, but he agreed after his parents persuaded him. Rhonda didn’t tell him about the early pregnancy or how she was kicked out because he was only 13. But she told him she was poor and that his father had left her.

Lincy went on to explain that it was difficult for Rhonda to provide a good life for him, so she gave him up. However, Matthew still didn’t want to accept her as his mother. “I can forgive you, maybe,” he said. “But I can’t call you mom. I have only one mother.”

“It’s all right, Matthew,” Rhonda said. “Can I come to see you at least on weekends?”

“Ok, I don’t mind that,” the boy said.

It’s been ten years since that fateful day. Matthew is now 23 years old and works as a data scientist in New York City. With time, he forgave Rhonda for what she had done and accepted her as his mother, realizing that whatever she had done was a compulsion.

Rhonda recently met a man named Andrew at work, and the two have been dating for a month. Rhonda wants to marry him, but first, she intends to talk to Matthew about it. She also met Mrs. Bamford when she went to Texas two years ago, and the older woman was glad that things worked out for her.

What can we learn from this story?

• Time heals everything. Matthew realized over time that Rhonda wasn’t entirely to blame for what happened that fateful day she left him.
• There’s no point in dwelling on the past. Matthew understood it and forgave Rhonda.