Losing someone you dearly love is one thing. But for a parent to lose their child is on another level entirely. Especially if the child died at a young age, and barely had time to live their life. One grieving mother had lost her two-year-old daughter. She was approached by the cemetery workers where she was buried with a surprising image that brought tears to her eyes.
Saundra Gonzales was the young mother of little Faviola Rodriguez. One day, she had left her daughter in her boyfriend’s care, with all the responsibility a two-year-old requires. In a tragic turn of events, Faviola died. Saundra was devastated. She loved little Faviola, whom she called her “little princess“.
The two-year-old was buried in a Masonic Cemetery on Compress Road in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Her headstone reads: “In loving memory of our little princess. Forever in our hearts Faviola Nova Rodriguez.” Her grave is surrounded by sunflowers, as well as purple and pink roses and daisies. There are a few toys left in her honor and a lantern.
In the same cemetery, not too far from Faviola, James Bustamante was buried. Similarly, his family had adorned his grave with flowers. And, a lantern that lights up automatically when the sun starts to set. His family had noticed someone was vandalizing his grave, so they set up a camera to keep watch over it. On one occasion, they saw something that caught their attention.
“I know that is my daughter.”
James Bustamante’s mother, Reina Rodriguez got hold of the cemetery officials with the intention to show them the strange footage. It showed a little girl kneeling by James’ grave. The cemetery worker recognized the girl immediately. He said: “We know that little girl”. As far as they could tell, the girl in the footage was Faviola. She looked like the same age, and had the same features.
“(The girl) just came straight to his grave and kneeled down and it seemed like she was talking — we’re not sure, it was just photos,” Reina Rodriguez said. “She just looked one other time and walked back into the other corner.”
Now that Reina knew where the potential star of her footage was buried, she waited till Saundra was at her daughter’s grave. Then, she finally got the chance to show her the footage.
Reportedly, Saundra burst into tears at the sight of what seemed to be her daughter. “She told us that she had something really beautiful to show us that they had captured on their video camera,” Saundra said, remembering the moment.
“So, then she pulled out her phone and she showed it to me, and as soon as she showed me the picture I started crying.” She was convinced it was her little princess, and immediately said through the tears: “I know that is my daughter.”
It made Saundra happy to see her daughter by James’ graveside. She says that her little princess is still doing God’s work. Her mission in the footage was to take James Bustamante to Heaven. He had been brutally murdered. So, Saundra believed she was trying to help him. “I think she was there to take him to heaven,” said Saundra.
For Saundra, it was a sign from God that her daughter had not gone and she is still with her mother in spirit. “I guess that was, like, our sign that she’s still here with us,” said Saundra. “And that she’s still doing God’s work. To me, I believe she made herself seen because she’s on a mission right now to be heard; everything that’s going on with the trial … I believe she’s trying to do what’s right.”
Whether the footage is real or not, no one will ever know. Could it have been another little girl who coincidentally looked like Faviola? Perhaps. However, it did provide a great deal of comfort to a grieving mother, which is more than most could ask for.