"Brooklyn? Brooklyn?" Tracy shouted as she looked for her daughter all over the apartment. She checked under her bed, closet, bathroom, but little Brooklyn was nowhere to be found.
Tracy rushed outside to check the front lawn, and that was when she saw her daughter's backpack laying on the front porch. Brooklyn had gone missing.
Curious Girl
Brooklyn was a three-year-old girl who was curious about the world around her. She would always say hello to strangers and engage in conversations with them, which worried her mother.
"It won't happen," Tracy thought, "not to us." She was wrong...
On Her Way
"Brooklyn, where are you?" Tracy called
She ran down the street and saw her daughter walking towards a garbage truck with a chocolate cupcake in her hand.
Running
Tracy started running at full speed to prevent her daughter from getting in the truck.
She had watched too many documentaries about missing children and worried Brooklyn could be the next target.
Too Late
Sadly, it was too late. Brooklyn had already made it to the driver's side of the truck.
But what happened next left Tracy at a loss for words.
Delvar Dopson
Brooklyn approached the garbage truck driver and struck up a conversation with him. She was talking to Delvar Dopson, a tall, muscular man with black sunglasses.
He looked at Tracy and then whispered something to her daughter. What was going on?
A Routine
Every Thursday, Delvar would drive by to pick up the garbage, and little Brooklyn waited for him by the window. It was clear to Tracy that the two were acquainted with each other.
But this time, she wanted to meet him face to face. Tracy blamed herself for not noticing her daughter sneaking out of the house.
Birthday Girl
How could she have been so careless? It was Thursday, and it was also Brooklyn's birthday. Tracy had made her favorite cupcakes to bring to school to share with her classmates.
But her daughter was waiting for Delvar, her favorite stranger, to give him one of her cupcakes. So, how did Delvar react?
A Gift
When Brooklyn heard the garbage truck approaching her house, she grabbed one of the cupcakes and rushed outside.
Delvar had no idea that Brooklyn was following him, so when she suddenly appeared next to his truck, he was shocked.
Cupcake
A little girl with a cupcake in her hand was standing next to his truck and smiling at him.
"This is for you, garbage man," she said. Brooklyn handed him the cupcake and hugged him. Delvar was so touched by her gesture that he vowed that he would do something for her in return. So what did he decide to do?
"Frozen" Fan
Delvar decided to surprise little Brooklyn on his own birthday. He had prepared a special present for her.
Delvar learned from Tracy that Brooklyn loved the movie "Frozen" and asked his wife to help him prepare a huge basket of Frozen-themed goodies.
Tradition
Delvar also had gotten Brooklyn an Elsa doll, which made her very happy.
Brooklyn and Delvar continued to exchange gifts for two years, and their story has gone viral worldwide.
Viral
Soon, Delvar began receiving letters from all over the world thanking him for being a good person.
Delvar has gotten a new job as a sanitation specialist in Bloomington, but he misses little Brooklyn every day.
Delvar's Thoughts
"It doesn't matter if I'm a garbage man or if I'm a CFO at State Farm," Delvar said.
"We all have to discover our gift and be effective…I mentor children, and that is the passion in my heart."
Kind Man
“By me recognizing my gift, I think I’m affecting my workplace,” he continued. “I think everybody can do that.”
Brooklyn also misses her favorite garbage man and hopes she will get to see him soon.