It all started one morning that Cascais was not prepared for.
The rain was lashing the streets at full speed.
Cars were stuck in traffic jams.
Horns were blaring.
People were cursing the weather, the delays, everything.
And in the middle of all this chaos…
stood an old man, his sweater soaked, clinging to a lamppost as if it were the last thing keeping him upright.
He didn’t have an umbrella.
He didn’t know where he was.
He couldn’t even remember his own name.
People ran past him without even looking at him twice.
Until a girl does it.
Lina — nineteen years old, soft-spoken, petite as a sparrow, working part-time in a bakery where no one ever received compliments — stepped out of the Pastelaria Aurora and froze as soon as she saw him.
« Sir? Is everything alright? »
The old man blinked, perplexed. Lost.
« I… I don’t know where I’m going. »
The rain clung to her eyelashes.
Without hesitation, Lina took off her only warm jacket and wrapped it around his shoulders.
« Don’t worry, » she whispered. « I’ll take you somewhere safe. »
And that’s how the young girl, whom everyone ignored, began to guide an old stranger through a storm.
The road that changed everything
Traffic was blocked.
Taxis weren’t stopping.
The bus network had collapsed.
So Lina walked.
Two kilometers.
In freezing rain.
Soaked shoes. Hair plastered to the skin.
Every few minutes, the old man stopped, frightened, asking the same question:
« Where are we going? »
And each time, Lina repeated the same gentle answer:
« Somewhere warm. Don’t worry, I’m right here. »
When they arrived at the hospital, her hands were trembling with cold.
But she didn’t let go of him.
The nurses recognized him immediately.
« We’ve been looking for him since this morning! »
They let him in.
Lina lowered her head, gave the old man one last reassuring smile…
and slipped away before anyone could ask her who she was.
She didn’t want recognition.
She didn’t want anyone to pay attention to her.
She just needed to get back to work before her manager exploded in anger.
She disappeared in the rain like a secret.
A son who refused to let the mysterious young girl disappear
Meanwhile, in Lisbon, the phone rang in the office of Adriano Monteiro, CEO of the Monteiro hotel group and heir to one of the most powerful families in Portugal.
His father had disappeared that morning.
Upon hearing the news, Adriano froze. The world became blurred.
Then, a second call:
« Your father has been found.
A young woman brought him to the hospital in Cascais. »
But nobody knew his name.
The hospital cameras were blurry due to the rain.
They only showed a little girl in a blue jacket guiding her father through the traffic.
Adriano went directly to Cascais.
His voice trembled when he asked his father:
« Who was she? »
The old man smiled – a gentle, emotional smile.
« She had a warm voice.
That’s all I remember.
But I wasn’t afraid… not for a single moment. »
These words deeply affected Adriano, more than any professional setback.
He made a promise:
« I will find her, Pai.
No matter how long it takes. »
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