Bus Driver Notices a Little Girl Crying Every Day, What He Found Under the Seat Shocked Him…

Every morning, Mr. Tu – a bus driver who had been running Route 08 for over 20 years – would drive his old pale-yellow bus from the suburbs into the city center. His life was steady, with familiar faces every day: workers heading to the morning shift, schoolchildren on their way to class, and a few women carrying heavy loads of goods. Yet recently, something had been troubling him.

On every morning trip, around 7 a.m., a little girl of about 10 years old would board the bus at a stop near a small village at the end of the route. She wore a neat school uniform: a white shirt and a blue skirt, with a worn backpack over her shoulders. She would sit quietly in the back row, always looking down, her eyes red as if she had been crying. At first, Mr. Tu thought perhaps she had been scolded by her parents or had a minor problem at school. But the strange thing was, she cried every single day. And whenever she reached the stop near her elementary school, she would quickly wipe away her tears and get off the bus as if nothing had happened.

Mr. Tu, who loved children and had a grandchild around her age, paid closer attention. One time, through the rearview mirror, he noticed the girl secretly glancing under the seat, her eyes full of worry, before grabbing her backpack and stepping off. That image made Mr. Tu’s heart ache with curiosity. “Could there be something under there?” he wondered. But the bus was crowded, so he couldn’t check immediately.

One drizzly morning, with fewer passengers, Mr. Tu decided to watch closely. As usual, the little girl sat in the back row, crying quietly while no one else seemed to notice. When the bus stopped at the school gate, she bent down again under the seat, then hurried off. Once the bus emptied, Mr. Tu went to the back and looked under the seat. In the dim light, he saw something small curled up in the dark corner.

He bent down and reached for it. At that moment, his aging heart raced as if he had discovered an incredible secret… In his hands was an old teddy bear, its fur matted and dirty in places, but with bright, shiny plastic eyes. Around its neck was a worn pink ribbon embroidered with two small letters: “Na Na.” Mr. Tu was momentarily stunned: so this was the reason the little girl had been looking under the seat every day.

He recalled that perhaps she had dropped the teddy bear some time ago, and since then had sat in the back to make sure her “little friend” was still there. But she didn’t dare pick it up, or maybe some reason prevented her. Her daily tears were the fear of losing her only friend.

Mr. Tu held the teddy bear and sat down in the seat. The feeling of touching the old toy stirred unexpected emotions. He remembered his youngest daughter as a child, hugging a teddy bear to sleep every night. He sat quietly for a while, then gently placed it in a small compartment near the driver’s seat. A thought came to him: “Tomorrow, I have to return this to her.”

The next morning, the little girl boarded the bus again. Her eyes were still red, her backpack held quietly as she sat in the back. As they neared the school stop, Mr. Tu gathered his courage and called out:

“Hey, did you drop this sometime?”

He held out the teddy bear, a kind smile on his sun-weathered face.

The little girl was momentarily startled, then her eyes widened in joy. She burst into tears and hugged the teddy bear tightly, stammering through her sobs:

“It… it’s mine! I thought I lost it…”

This time, her tears were not of sadness, but of overwhelming happiness. The passengers glanced over, and a few smiled, touched by the scene.

Mr. Tu gently asked:

“– Why didn’t you just pick it up these past few days?”

The little girl lowered her head and whispered:

“– My parents forbid me from bringing the teddy to school… They say I’m grown up now and should learn to be independent… I was afraid I’d get scolded if I took it, so… I just left it here and looked at it every day to feel safe.”

Mr. Tu was silent. Behind those tears was a simple longing: to hold onto a piece of childhood, a quiet friend during lonely days.

From that day on, Mr. Tu felt his bus rides were less lonely. The little girl still boarded every morning, but instead of crying, her face was bright, and she hugged the teddy bear tightly. Occasionally, she would sit near the driver’s seat and chat softly with him. In return, he told her about his youngest daughter’s childhood and the long bus rides full of memories.

The story of the grandfather and granddaughter gradually spread among the regular passengers. Some gave her a new bow to tie on the teddy bear, others bought a few candies so she could snack and smile. The quiet, sometimes tiring atmosphere on the bus had become unusually warm.

One afternoon, rain suddenly poured. When the bus reached the last stop, Mr. Tu noticed the little girl struggling without an umbrella. He handed her an old raincoat. She accepted it and whispered, nodding:

“– Thank you so much, sir. You’re like… my grandpa.”

Those simple words made his heart swell. He had never imagined that a small act like taking care of a teddy bear could create such a magical bond.

From then on, the little girl no longer hid her teddy bear. She confidently told her parents that it was an “indispensable friend.” Although her parents still encouraged her to grow up, they gradually understood and accepted it.

The story of the little girl and the bus driver became something passengers talked about repeatedly. People realized that amid the rush of life, sometimes a small act – keeping someone’s treasured item safe, returning a cherished memory – could warm another’s heart. And sometimes, a stranger can offer understanding and love in ways we never expect.

The bus still sped along its familiar route, but for Mr. Tu, each ride was no longer just a job. It had become a journey of human kindness, a reminder that goodness always exists in the simplest places.