For 20 minutes, two people who had been utterly oblivious to each other’s existence stood still, looking at each other. They didn’t know whether to go for a hug or say something. Finally, one of them plucked up the courage to break the silence, trying to live the past 44 years in one embrace.
A mother’s love for her child is selfless, pure, and never-ending. Sadly, some kids grow up devoid of motherly warmth and affection due to unexplainable or unlikely circumstances. Many might even wonder what it would be like not living with the soul-crushing pain of absence.
The story of this mother-child duo was set in a similar backdrop—none of them knew what fate had planned for them. Then, one day, in an astonishing turn of events, the universe brought forth a plot twist that many might have only read in books or watched in movies!
Losing Her Infant Son
When Reda Mahmoud embraced motherhood, she was delighted and couldn’t wait to hug and hold her baby. But only two weeks later, her infant boy became so unwell he had to be taken to the hospital. Seeing his critical condition, the doctors admitted him while he fully recovered.
Finally, he stepped forward, took his mother’s hand, and kissed it, after which she melted in his warm embrace.
While Reda anxiously waited for her son to arrive home and prayed for his recovery, she didn’t know what would happen. One day, her husband returned home from the hospital and gave her heart-stopping news—their baby boy had passed away.
Reda was ambushed with the tragic news when her marriage was on the verge of falling apart. Eventually, she and her husband divorced, and with a broken heart, Reda bid farewell to Jordan and went back to Cairo, Egypt—her home country
Living with the Aching Void and Little Information
Many years passed, but the distraught mother never forgot about her baby, always keeping him alive in her memories. At times, she imagined a world where she and her son were together, leading a happy and prosperous life.
Unbeknownst to Reda, her infant son, Wissam Mohamed, was all grown up and lived in Jordan. Spending a large part of his life without a mother had left him with an aching void and several questions. He neither had any information regarding her whereabouts nor knew whether she was alive or dead.
All Wissam knew was his mother’s name, which he obtained from his birth documents and a foggy idea of where she used to reside in Cairo. But after so many years, the chances of his mom living in the same place were slim.
His Search Continued
Determined not to give up, Wissam searched for his mother and found himself in Egypt several times. Sadly, any attempts to locate his mother were null and void because the house she had once inhabited in Cairo was ruined by an earthquake in 1992.
His dwindling hopes were rekindled a little when in 2018, the lawyers told him they could not find a death certificate in his mother’s name. But that discovery in no way aided Wissam’s search; he had nothing concrete to keep going except for his heart’s calling.
An Unexpected Turn
In late 2022, things took a pleasant turn when Wissan’s Jordanian aunt stumbled upon some old photos of his mother and shared them on social media. Eventually, those pictures were noticed by an Egyptian group, “Missing Children,” created in 2015 to reunite missing kids with their loved ones.
One thing led to another, and in early December 2022, within 24 hours, the group’s admin succeeded in locating Wissam’s mother, Reda. The Jordanian man traveled to Cairo the next day, and an emotional scene ensued at the airport.
44 Years in the Making
Rami el-Gebali, the Facebook group’s founder, witnessed the moment Reda and Wissam saw each other. He recalled how they were both hesitant to make the first move, standing frozen for 20 minutes.
While Wissam struggled to decide whether he could hug the woman in front of him, she was unsure whether it was the same son she had thought dead for over four decades. Finally, he stepped forward, took his mother’s hand, and kissed it, after which she melted in his warm embrace.
With his arms tightly wrapped around his mom, Wissam asked, “You thought I was dead?” A teary-eyed Reda replied, “They told me so.” Trying his best to relive the past four decades, Wissam continued, “I am sorry. I have been looking for you for 20 years.”
The Reason behind the Lie
Words became trivial as the mother-son duo hugged, cried, and kissed, making the most of their time together. During the heartwarming reunion, Reda discovered that her husband lied to her many years ago about her son’s death, particularly in the wake of their impending divorce.
“He was afraid she might take me away with her,” explained Wissam. For 44 years, Reda spent her life thinking that her sweet little angel died in the hospital while he was living with his father in Jordan.
Although the mother and son had missed out on so much, their meeting wasn’t less than a miracle. For Rami, who had helped reunite thousands of lost children with their families, witnessing another reunion was gratifying.
