Just had to share this story with everyone. Miracles do happen.
My eldest nephew, who is only 6 years younger than I, left home 8 years ago and basically disappeared. He was 32 at the time. He left a note for his family saying that he "had to leave because of the situation he was in" and that he was sorry about it but he didn't know what else to do. They didn't know what he meant, and were wild with worry. They couldn't file a missing persons report because he had informed them that he was leaving and he was not a minor. Private investigators turned up very little and he managed to stay one step ahead of them for the first 2 years. After that, it was as if he had fallen off the face of the earth. We never gave up looking for him though. I would search the internet for him several times a week and I found nothing...until last Thursday. I did an image search for him and suddenly, I was looking into the face I'd longed to see for 8 years. I was so stunned that I really didn't believe it was J. I sent the picture to my cousin and sister (not his Mom) for verification and we all agreed it was J. I wanted to be sure before I contacted his parents.
I called J's dad. All I could say was, "I'm emailing a picture to you. I think I've found J." He couldn't even speak, except to say, "I'll call you back as soon as I look at it". My heart was leaping out of my chest by now. He called back right away and holding back tears said, "It's my boy".
The picture was an "Employee of the Month" photo, so we had a contact number from his job, several states away. His Dad called, and J. thought it was someone playing a very bad joke. His Dad finally convinced him that it was real. J just said, "Dad, would it be OK if I came to visit? I really want to come home."
J came home the next day. He had straightened himself out, was doing well at work and had a lovely long-time girlfriend. He had thought that his family wouldn't want him anymore after all the pain he had caused them, so he was afraid to make contact. He said that, almost daily, he would go to Google Earth and look at the satellite images of his parents' house, and wonder if he would ever be able to go back there.
So we're having a lovely catching-up week with him. He knows that he is much loved, was desperately missed, and he and his girlfriend want to soon move back South soon.
Happy happy happy.
Did I mention that he plays a mean guitar and sings like an angel?
HC