Bus Driver Spots an Abandoned Bag under the Seat and Finds a Child in It — Story of the Day

A bus driver is stunned when he finds a child hiding in an abandoned sports bag in his bus, and ends up saving the boy and transforming his own life forever.

Adam Loftner was a driver for a well-known intercity bus service and he’d been crossing the country for years. He loved his job, but it was a lonely life. Adam’s shifts and odd hours meant that there wasn’t a lot of time for romance, and besides, he was a shy man.

One evening, Adam had just arrived after having driven to Cleveland from Detroit. He was walking through the bus to make sure no passengers had stayed behind when he noticed a large sports bag on one of the back seats.

Adam groaned. “Now I’ll have to take this in to lost and found and fill in all that paperwork,” he grumbled as he bent down to pick up the bag. But the bag turned out to be a lot heavier than Adam was expecting — and it squirmed!

Adam reached for the zipper and opened the bag. To his surprise, the first thing he saw was a pair of huge frightened eyes. The eyes belonged to a little boy who looked to be no older than four.

“What have we here?” asked Adam, and reached into the bag to lift the little boy out. “Who are you, little man, and how did you get here?”

The boy stood up straight. “My mom put me in the bag, so I could go to my auntie’s house without my dad getting mad and hurting us.” Adam noticed that the boy had some ugly bruises on his arms and legs.

“But why didn’t your mom buy you a bus ticket?” asked Adam.

“We don’t have any money,” the boy explained. “Dad doesn’t give us any.”

“I see,” said Adam. “And where is your aunt’s house, do you know?” The boy nodded proudly and took a carefully folded piece of paper out of his pocket. Adam unfolded it and read the address.

“Oh no!” he cried. “Your aunt lives in Pittsburg! Your mother put you on the wrong bus!” At this, the little boy burst into tears, and Adam tried to comfort him. “Listen, it’s OK! I’ll take you...