A one-handed boy’s heart goes out to his late friend’s sick grandma, and he makes broth for her despite the difficulty of doing so with one hand. The sick older lady returns his charity in the most heartwarming way.
“Do you promise me you’ll look after Grand Molly?” George asked. He was tired, but he didn’t say it. Edward George told his best friend in tears. He lived with his grandma after his parents abandoned him due to his leukemia diagnosis, and because Edward was his best friend, he asked Edward to watch after his grandma if his illness took him away from her.
“Don’t worry, Georgie, you’ll be okay,” Edward reassured George with the biggest smile on his face.
Edward and George were nine years old and best friends. They attended the same school, lived in the same area, and had smashed countless neighbors’ windowpanes together until George fainted and was rushed to the hospital. Molly and Edward found that George had leukemia, and the doctors advised them to begin treatment as soon as possible. Molly spent all of her savings and earnings to see her grandson well, but George’s health deteriorated, and he died in his sleep one night. Edward cried uncontrollably as he stood in front of George’s grave. Then, he sat next to his pal, telling him everything that was bothering him.
Two years ago, Edward and his mother were involved in a terrible car crash, and unfortunately, she died before she could make it to the hospital. Edward, on the other hand, survived but lost a hand. For a seven-year-old, that wasn’t easy. Then another tragedy struck the young boy’s life, and his father abandoned him. Edward was left with his widowed grandmother, who was raising him alone. Because Edward was one-handed, everyone in his class teased him. None of the kids befriended him except George. He was the only friend Edward had, and he died too soon; that broke Edward on the inside.
“Remember when Danny left me? He said I was unlucky. Everyone I loved died,” Edward sobbed to his grandma Agnes one evening, wiping his tears. The older woman hugged him close. “I bring bad luck, Grandma. I do bad things to people, so God punished me and took away my hand. I used to love playing violin, but now I can’t play anymore.”
Only Agnes knew how difficult it was to keep her tears at bay when Edward said that. “You see, God had two options,” she explained. “He could give you a beautiful life to live, but he would have to take something away from you, or he could take your life. God wanted you to live happily ever after, so he gave you life. But you know, God sends us troubles to make us stronger. My grandson is the strongest boy I know; he can do all that other kids his age can do. Having only one hand makes you special.”
Edward spent the rest of the evening discussing his concerns with Agnes, and she answered his queries wisely. Edward had stopped crying by dinner time and went to bed calmly. Agnes switched off his bedroom lights and left his room.
After school the next day, Edward went to Molly’s house and knocked on her door. The older woman was bent and always walked on her cane, so she took some time answering. Once she appeared in the doorstep, Edward noticed Molly looked sick.
“Grand Molly, you all right?” he cried.
“Oh, I have some slightly fever and a cold. Edward, come in. Are your classes over?”
“Yes, Grand Molly,” Edward replied as he went in, “but you look so… oh, you remind me of my Georgie.” She cut him off sweetly. “He also used to worry about me so much. Have a seat. I’ll get you some cookies and milk.”
As Edward sat in the living room waiting for the cookies, he saw Molly had trouble moving around the house. She seemed very pale and weak, and he was worried about her. When Edward got home that afternoon, he couldn’t get Molly’s pale face out of his mind. He decided to make her the special soup as his mother used to make for him whenever he fell sick. He didn’t bother Agnes because she was napping in the afternoon. He found his mother’s cookbook in her bedroom drawer and carefully followed the recipe. Being one-handed, it wasn’t easy for little Edward to stir the soup properly, but he didn’t give up. Agnes had told him he was special because he could do everything with one hand, but sadly, Edward was stuck halfway through the recipe after tasting it.
“There’s less salt. Does Granny Molly eat less salt? Grandma eats less salt too, so maybe it’ll be okay.”
Finally, Edward’s soup had almost no salt, but it had the love he had put into it. He carefully packed it in a thermos flask with some crackers in a box and wrote a note for Agnes: “I’m off to see Grand Molly. I’ll be back soon, Grandma.”
When Molly answered the door the second time to Edward and learned he had made soup for her, her tears didn’t stop as she served some soup for herself and had the first spoonful. Edward eagerly awaited the feedback. The soup was somewhat overdone, but Molly didn’t stop until she finished it.
“It was the perfect soup for my cold, Edward,” she said with moist eyes, and Edward smiled broadly.
When Edward went home, Agnes hugged him. “Oh, you’re okay? You should have woken me up, honey. You should not be playing with fire like that. You made soup, didn’t you?”
From then on, Edward brought soup to Molly every day until she was well. Then one day, when Edward returned from school, Agnes gave him an envelope. Edward opened the envelope and found a check with several zeros in it. He didn’t even know how to read the amount, but he read the note with it and burst into tears.
“My dearest Edward, thank you for being an angel and bringing me the tastiest soup on the planet. I’m doing a lot better now; your soup was helpful, so I thought why not give you a little surprise in return. Georgie once told me that you love playing the violin but had to give it up after the accident. This will help you; you can get a prosthesis.”
“You won’t understand what it means to ask your grandmother for help. Grand Molly is helping you, Edward. She’s happy you helped her. You can get your hand back! I couldn’t afford it, but God sent her to help us,” Agnes said, and Edward hugged her in tears.
“If Grand Molly’s happy, it means I fulfilled my promise to George. Grandma, I’m so happy!”
After getting a prosthetic arm, Edward was able to learn the violin again. With time, he grew more in love with music and decided to pursue a career in it. And when he fell short of funds for college, Molly stepped in to help him. Today, Edward is a famous musician in his town, and it became possible because two boys and grandmothers assisted each other like family. Edward became Molly’s grandson after George left her and fulfilled his promise to his late friend.
