For Roman's mother, seeing her son happy made the growing circle of familiar faces especially meaningful.
She had initially known very little about many of the people who were becoming part of Roman's world. But she could see the positive effect their attention had on him.
A Birthday With an Unexpected Guest List
When Roman's birthday arrived, the people he wanted around him were his older neighbors.
The relationships had become meaningful to him, and he enjoyed seeing them and giving them hugs.
The neighbors, in turn, had come to care about the little boy who had helped bring them together.
A child who had simply wanted to say hello had helped create friendships between adults who might otherwise have remained strangers.
According to CBS News, about a dozen neighbors had become part of the community that grew around Roman.
His mother said the loneliness she had noticed in him had eased.
