This is 21-year-old Heidi Paat, who's currently attending college in Riverside, California. Her two best friends, Vanessa Mendoza and Norma Bates, live in Montclair, California, so they don't get to see Paat as often anymore.
Over the last two years, the distance became more difficult on the trio when Mendoza and Bates both lost a parent, and Paat couldn’t physically be there for her best friends as much as she would have liked to.
Bates’ mother died in May 2015 from cancer, and Mendoza’s father died of a stroke in March 2016.
So when Paat came home to celebrate their belated birthdays, she wanted to do something extra special for them. She headed to a Build-A-Bear, and built personalized teddy bears with voice recordings from each of their late parents.
“I thought something that they’d love could be something related to their parents because I know how much they miss them,” she told BuzzFeed News.
She had secretly reached out to Bates' sister for a voice recording of their late mom, and then went on Mendoza's Facebook to clip a recording of her late dad's voice from an older video.
"It was emotional to have to create [the bears]," Paat sad. "Listening to their voices made me miss them too."
Paat first filled her car with other miscellaneous gifts. She saved the bears for last. When Bates and Mendoza (seen in the video in the green hat) realized what they were listening to, they were left speechless. And for a moment there was silence among the three friends.
Both of my best friends lost their parents over the past two years so I got them a bear with their parents' voice r… https://t.co/ILtC1X3IHB
Bates' late mother is heard singing "Happy Birthday," and the clip Paat pulled of Mendoza's dad is from a video where he's telling her how pretty she looks.
"I broke down and cried … I hadn’t heard her voice in a long time," Bates said. "And I don't really ever cry."
Mendoza told BuzzFeed News she sleeps with the bear every night.
The 30-second clip has everyone online sobbing too.
@_Heidi10 girl you got me crying. You're a good friend 😭😭😭😭💕
@_Heidi10 awe 😭, you seriously made your best friends birthdays & their lives so much more better, bless your soul b! 💕
They're touched by Paat's gesture — and are calling her "an amazing friend" who we may "all need in our lives."
@_Heidi10 you're an amazing friend
@_Heidi10 @FABrezebabe you are the friend we all need in our lives
The video has gone viral on Twitter. Both friends say Paat posted it only to inspire and connect with other people grieving over a lost parent.
"Heidi didn’t post it for attention," Bates said. "It something real. Not everyone loses their parents so young, but people can still relate to it."
And many are connecting on a very emotional level. "Everyone's been posting pictures of themselves crying," Bates said. "I like how positive it is."
@_Heidi10 @thiccjooheon
@_Heidi10 @alyssacardiff
@_Heidi10 @mylaaperez 😪💔
"This is the most incredible, thoughtful, wonderful idea. The world needs more people like you," someone wrote.
@_Heidi10 This is the most incredible, thoughtful, wonderful idea. The world needs more people like you.
"Your guys' friendship is so beautiful."
@_Heidi10 I'm crying. Your guys' friendship is so beautiful 💗