“Oh, little one…” she whispered.
He was weak, exhausted, and still crying.
Within minutes, several people from the village had gathered outside the house.
Some blamed the mother.
Others blamed the father who had abandoned them.
But the neighbor did not waste time arguing.
She wrapped the baby carefully and took him back to the hospital.
The doctors examined him again.
“The child needs proper feeding and care,” one of them explained. “And later, he will still need surgery.”
The neighbor looked down at the baby.
She was not wealthy. She had children of her own. She barely had enough money for her own household.
But she could not leave him.
So she took the baby home.
For the next several weeks, she cared for him as if he were her own.
At night, when he cried, she held him against her chest and walked around the small room until he fell asleep.
