Woman missing late dad texted his phone 3 years after his death—the reply she got 'felt like a hug' from him

The story of a woman named Kathy sending texts to her deceased father's phone is a perfect example of how little moments can make a huge difference to those processing grief, as per Daily Mail. A post was shared on Reddit by Kathy (u/Present_Tax_8302) who detailed a heartfelt exchange of texts between her and a stranger.

The woman's father passed away in 2020 and to cope with the grief, she started sending texts to her dad's phone number. However, the number was registered to a new user who continued to get Kathy's texts for a while. At one point, Kathy had a difficult day and she was missing her dad, who was not around anymore, a lot. "I miss you every day," Kathy sent a text from her side and surprisingly got a response from a stranger who had replied with two question marks.
"Whoa," Kathy typed back, as she had no idea what was going to unfold. "This is my dad's old phone number. He passed away in 2020. I was not expecting a response," she replied. The stranger decided to lighten up Kathy's mood by offering to show her a picture of their cat. "Wanna see my kitten being silly?" the stranger wrote. Kathy replied with an enthusiastic "yes." She then received an adorable picture of a black cat in the middle of yawning.

But Kathy was about to get another stunning revelation from the stranger. It turned out, the kitten was named Lucky, a name that was also given to Kathy's puppy when she was a kid. Her dad had brought that puppy for her long ago. "Thank you. This feels like a hug from him," Kathy emotionally replied when the stranger wished to hug and console her. Fellow Reddit users who came across Kathy's post reminded her how the replies could have been a signal from the universe that her dad was looking after her from above.
u/itsthejasper1123 commented, "Dude, I don't care what you believe in. Whether it’s religious, spiritual, scientific or nothing. I know Lucky is a somewhat common name but that's not a random coincidence but totally a little sign for you. I’m so glad you got to experience this interaction." u/Political_Piper joked, "I frequent scam bait a lot and if this happened to me, I would have assumed you were trying to scam me and would have messed with you. Glad you got to see a kitty instead." u/pettigrj mentioned, "Lost my dad 13 years ago and I have a tape recording of him reading me a book that I listen to every now and then when I’m missing him a little extra. It’s the little things we cherished at the moment that we wish we could experience now."

u/Whoshabooboo quipped, "And now I am crying. My kids are just learning about heaven and death since my grandmother passed away. Telling them they will miss me, makes me have to leave the room after helping make them happy again with a new subject." u/Look_over_that_way shared, "This really does feel like a hug from your dad! Thank you for sharing this! I lost my mom in 2020 as well. Sending all the best vibes your way!" u/ImProdactyl added, "Sending virtual hugs. My dad also passed in 2020. Some days are harder than others. I’m glad this random stranger was kindhearted towards you in this. Definitely wholesome!"