It was too late for me to stop the tears from falling down my cheeks. The room was perfectly quiet all around us. People from all walks of life were seeing this little girl as she presented a portion of herself to the lady who was going to marry her father.
As I bent down, I closed my hands over her face and cradled it. “This,” I remarked, my voice shaking, “is the most beautiful gift that anyone has ever given me,” I expressed my sentiments. I shall always have fond memories of it.
She glanced at me with the timidity that she always displays for a little while. After that, she broke out in a broad, radiant grin that caused her eyes to wrinkle and her cheeks to blush. The room was filled with applause, but it was not a boisterous shouting crowd; rather, it was a quiet, genuine clapping.
Each and every person was aware that they had seen something holy. A performance was not what it was. It was not about wanting to be noticed.
Simply put, it was love. Later on that evening, when the event was winding down, Lucas embraced me under the fairy lights that were strung among the trees. A peek across the lawn revealed that Grace was engaged in a game of tag with her cousins, but she had forgotten to bring her blue hat.
A hushed voice said, “She is astonishing.”
“She is now yours as well,” Lucas murmured as he planted a kiss on my forehead. And despite the fact that the whole wedding had been stunning, it was Grace’s gift—her trust, her bravery, and her heart—that made it an experience that will never be forgotten. Because there are instances when love does not arrive in the form of flowers or diamonds shining brightly before you.
On occasion, it is a little girl wearing a knitted cap who is bearing the most altruistic gift that the whole world has ever seen. Since that day, Grace and I have been inseparable from that point on. We were always close, but that particular event brought us closer together in a manner that cannot be adequately described using words.
It was not just her hair that she had given to me; she had also given me her heart. However, it was not the end of our tale. Even after a few weeks had passed, Lucas and I were still discussing that particular moment when we were sitting on the porch and watching the sunset.
“You know,” he continued with a contemplative tone, “maybe we ought to do something more significant with what she did.”
Instantaneously, I gave a nod. The same as establishing a foundation. It would be possible for us to create wigs for individuals who have lost their hair, particularly children who are undergoing treatment or who have alopecia.
Something that lets individuals enjoy the sensation of being liked and lovely. Suddenly, Grace, who had been lying on the sofa with her coloring book in her hands, became enthusiastic. “Am I able to be of assistance?” she inquired.
In the same way that I made you happy, Mom, I want to make other people happy as well. The Love Wig Foundation was established as a result of this event. Over time, grace evolved into the very essence of it.
She participated in the selection of designs for wigs, wrote little remarks to accompany each one (such “So you can smile when you wear this,” which she would write in block letters with great care), and gave speeches at events to explain why she was so enthusiastic about the initiative. Despite the fact that she was only eight years old, she had already grasped the concept many others spend their whole lives attempting to learn: genuine love is about giving without expecting anything in return. After a number of years had passed, Grace, who was then a teenager, gave me a bear embrace before she took the stage at one of the events that our charity hosted.
When she got near to her mother, she said, “See, Mom? Believe me when I say that love makes everything better. Exactly at that moment, I recalled once again the reasons why she was and would continue to be the most wonderful present I had ever been given.
