It's not every day that TikTok makes us cry — but when the social media platform does, the tears won't stop flowing. A pair of viral videos from a bereaved mom carrying out an act of kindness in honor of her daughter who died as an infant has captured the hearts of hundreds of thousands of users. And it isn't difficult to see why.
The pain of losing a child never goes away. However, one way a mom named Melissa honored the memory of her baby girl was through a gift to a complete stranger. She shared the journey with her TikTok followers, as well as an update after it went viral. Fair warning: You might want to grab a box of tissues.
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Melissa posted a TikTok video on what would have been her daughter's 14th birthday. On July 2, Melissa posted a video to TikTok that has since attracted more than 1 million views.
"Come with me as I go buy someone's birthday cake in honor of my late daughter," she said to the camera while sitting in her vehicle in the parking lot. "My daughter, Amaya Nadine, she was born July 2, 2010…She is 14 today.”
In the now-viral clip, the bereaved mom explained how she wanted to honor Amaya Nadine. Melissa explained that Amaya "lived five very short months on this Earth." She added, "What other way to honor her than to go buy someone's birthday cake?" After picking up a birthday card with a sunflower on it, that's exactly what she did.
Equipped with a greeting card explaining why she bought the cake, Melissa went to the Publix bakery to find the lucky birthday girl. She explained a woman at the bakery her wish to purchase a cake in honor of her late daughter, and viewers watched as she paid for it.
"So I just bought a cake for a little girl named Emma, who is picking it up here in about an hour," Melissa said to the camera after returning to her car. "And it's Emma's 14th birthday also. Happy birthday to you also, Emma. Enjoy your day."
TikTok users reacted to Melissa's act of kindness in the comments, with one writing, "The way the universe showed up for you…that was your baby ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️."
Another person commented: "'I had the whole bakery crying' girl you got the whole dang internet crying! You’re amazing for doing this!✨✨."
Meanwhile, someone else wrote, "I hope we end up seeing the POV of Emma's mom talking about picking up her daughter's cake!" to which Melissa replied, "I would love that ."
In a sweet twist, Emma's mom did see Melissa's TikTok video and reached out to her via Facebook. "She sent me this super heartwarming message about how they feel so honored about what I did," Melissa explained in a separate TikTok update. Additionally, they set off fireworks for Emma's birthday and sent Melissa a video of it.
"It brings me so much happiness and so much joy to know that Amaya's itty-bitty little feet are still just making their little footprints on hearts," Melissa said.
