A pair of childhood best friends were brought to floods of happy tears when they finally reunited by surprise two and a half years after one family moved across the country.
Adaleigh Milligan, 10, had been told by her mom they were heading to Florida to see her grandpa, when, really, they were taking a flight to Dallas, Texas, where her best friend Maliah Hahn now lives.
Having landed, Adaleigh started noticing Dallas signs, and so, when things clicked, mom Kelli told her they were visiting Maliah and that everything had been one big secret.
Wanting to then surprise her best friend, Adaleigh approached Maliah’s house and rang the doorbell.
As the door opened, Maliah, 10, answered, and with both girls suddenly laying eyes on each other for the first time in over two years, they suddenly burst into tears of emotion.
Maliah’s family moved from Fishers, Indiana, to the Lone Star State in 2019.
She and Adaleigh were best friends and neighbors in kindergarten, but after Maliah moved states, the coronavirus pandemic meant no reunions could be arranged between the families.
The separation was very difficult on their girls, and so Kelli and Maliah’s mom, Angie, started texting to plan a reunion surprise.
Kelli said: “It seemed like an eternity waiting for Maliah to answer the door but when it opened and they saw each other, it was immediately happy and surprised tears and the most heartfelt hug.
“Angie and I both were fighting back tears and doing that awkward laugh, so we didn’t cry.
“The hug was honestly the purest hug and a moment of joy and happiness – you can see both girls squeeze just a little tighter.”