Left-behind girl’s only wish is to meet mom on Children’s Day

“I don’t want any gift for Children’s Day, I just want to be by my mother’s side,” said Zhang Meiyan, a nine-year-old girl living in north China’s Shanxi province. The request brought her grandparents to tears.

Meiyan hadn’t seen her mother for three years after her parents got divorced when she was six years old. Meiyan lives with her grandparents in a small dilapidated home. Her mother works far away in the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia and her farther works too.

On May 31, the little girl’s wish came true. After hearing about her story, some volunteers in the community decided to help make her Children’s Day wish come true. The girl’s mother took two days off of work and traveled the long distance to see her daughter again.

In the arms of her mother, the little girl felt very happy. She was happy that they were together again, but also sad they cannot spend the holidays together or take part in school performances together.

During their half day together, the two went shopping and stared into each other’s eyes. The little girl could not bear to look away from her mother. She wanted that image forever engraved in her heart.

When their time came to an end and her mother had to return to her place of work, she refused to let go of her mother’s hands. She could not bear the sight of her mother leaving so she began running and shouting “mother, do not leave!” until she was too tired to run and fell to the ground. Her mom stopped the motorcycle she was riding on and held her daughter in her arms. Crying, she said, “Mom and dad are divorced. I can no longer live in this house, but will come back to see you.” After holding her daughter for a moment, she nonetheless ruthlessly left her standing there alone.