My son, Sam, started drawing strange pictures, ones I couldn’t understand. They weren’t just the innocent scribbles of a child; they seemed to tell a story he believed in—a story that involved his father, who wasn’t supposed to be here anymore.
Tired and worn out, I dragged myself home from work, my feet heavy with exhaustion. But before I could think about resting, I had to stop by my mom’s house to pick up my son, Sam.
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I was doing everything I could to make sure Sam had a good childhood, even though things were tough. I didn’t want him to see how much we were struggling.
As I walked up to my mom’s house, the familiar sight of her little garden brought a small smile to my face. I knocked on the door, and before I could lower my hand, she opened it.
As soon as I stepped inside, my mom took one look at me and frowned. “You look terrible,” she said.
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“Thanks, Mom,” I replied with a bit of sarcasm.
“You need more rest,” she insisted.
“You know I can’t,” I said, shaking my head slightly. “We need the money.”
“But Sam needs a healthy and happy mom, Scarlett,” she argued.
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“And Sam also needs fresh, tasty food on the table, clothes that fit, and to stay in school,” I shot back.
“You’re going to ruin yourself at this rate,” she warned. “I still can’t believe Jake’s sister got his insurance, not you.” The mention of Jake, my husband, made my chest tighten.
“Yeah,” I muttered, not wanting to get into it again. I didn’t have the strength for this conversation. We had gone over it too many times. “Where’s Sam?” I asked.
“In the living room, drawing again,” she said. “It’s getting harder for me to understand his drawings each time.”
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“Tell me about it,” I said with a weary sigh.
“You’ve lost so much weight,” Mom continued. “Should I heat some dinner for you?”
“No, thanks, I ate at work,” I lied, not wanting to admit how little I’d actually eaten. “Did Sam eat?”
“Yes, but don’t think you can fool your mother,” she said, seeing right through me. “I’ll pack you some dinner to take with you.” Before I could protest, she was already heading toward the kitchen.
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“Mom, you don’t have to!” I called after her, but she didn’t stop. She disappeared into the kitchen, leaving me to sigh heavily and call out, “Sam! Let’s go home!”
It wasn’t long before Sam came running, his face lighting up when he saw me. “Mom!” he shouted, throwing his arms around me in a big hug.
“Hi, sweetheart. How was your day?”
“All good! I drew a lot of pictures,” he said.
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“Great. You’ll show me all of them at home.” I took his hand and started leading him toward the front door. “Mom, we’re leaving!” I called out.
“Wait!” she shouted from the kitchen, hurrying over with several containers of food, which she promptly stuffed into my bag. She pulled me into a quick hug. “Take care, dear, and don’t forget to eat.”
“Okay, Mom, bye,” I said, giving her a tired smile as Sam and I headed out the door.
I took Sam’s hand, and we went home. Thankfully, we didn’t live far because I was beyond exhausted.
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When we got inside, the first thing I did was send him off to play. “Go ahead, sweetheart. Mommy needs a quick shower.”
The shower was a brief escape, and I let the warm water wash away some of the day’s weight. But as soon as I stepped out, Sam was there, bursting with excitement.
“Mom, I want to show you my drawings!” he said, pulling me toward his little table. I sat down, and he spread out his drawings, eager to share every detail.
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Sam laid out another drawing, his little finger pointing to a picture that resembled two figures. “This is me and Dad walking in the park,” he said with a proud smile. I felt my heart tighten at his words. I could see how much he missed Jake. “This is us playing, and this is us boating,” Sam continued.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at the drawing of them on the boat. I gently pulled Sam close, holding the picture in my hand. “Would you like to go boating with Dad, huh?”
Sam looked up at me with a serious expression. “Uh… I drew what we already did. I’ve already been boating with Dad.”
“Sam, it’s okay to dream, but Dad is in heaven now,” I said gently. “We need to learn to separate reality from dreams.”
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Sam shook his head firmly. “Yeah, I know, but these aren’t dreams. Dad isn’t in heaven. I even saw him today,” he insisted.
My heart ached. “Sam, I’m struggling too, but we need to learn how to cope with things together.”
His eyes filled with frustration. “Do you think I’m lying?! I’m telling the truth!” he shouted, and before I could say anything, he ran out of the room, slamming the bathroom door behind him.
I spent what felt like hours outside the door, trying to coax him out. Finally, I managed to lure him out with the promise of his favorite cartoon.
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The next morning, after I dropped Sam off at school, I found myself feeling uneasy. His words from the night before echoed in my mind. I knew I needed help, so before heading to work, I decided to visit a child therapist.
Linda was someone I could trust. We had studied together at the same university, and we used to be close friends, though life had pulled us in different directions over the years.
I stepped into Linda’s office. “Hi,” I said quietly, trying to smile.
Linda looked up from her desk and gave me a warm smile. “Scarlett, it’s been a while. How are you holding up?”
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“I’m managing,” I replied, though my voice betrayed my exhaustion. “But I’m really worried about Sam. Since Jake’s death, he’s been acting… differently. He’s always drawing, and he keeps saying he spends time with Jake.”
“What happened to Jake? You’ve never really talked about it with me.”
I took a deep breath. “Jake went on a hike. When a week passed and he didn’t come back, I got worried. He wasn’t answering texts or calls, so we started a search operation with the police. At first, he was considered missing. But then they found his belongings… torn apart. The police said he was killed by wild animals and declared him dead.”
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Linda’s eyes softened with sympathy. “That’s awful, Scarlett. It must be so hard for you and Sam. I think Sam might be acting this way because he never got to say goodbye to his dad. It’s possible he’s holding on to something that isn’t there.”
I nodded. “What should I do?”
“Why don’t you bring Sam in today? I can talk to him and see if we can figure out what’s going on in his mind.”
“I would really appreciate that,” I said.
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“No problem,” Linda replied with a reassuring smile. “Oh, and bring his drawings too. I’d like to take a look at them.”
I nodded and left Linda’s office, my mind racing with thoughts. I knew this was important, so I decided to take some time off work. After picking Sam up from school, I headed straight back to Linda’s office.
Once we arrived, I watched him walk into Linda’s office, holding his stack of drawings tightly.
I waited outside, the minutes stretching into what felt like hours. After an hour and a half—much longer than I expected—Linda finally emerged. Her face was serious which made my heart skip a beat.
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“So, how is he?” I asked, my voice trembling with worry.
“It’s complicated, Scarlett,” Linda said gently. “Sam truly believes he’s spending time with Jake. He described each meeting with so much detail, even recounting their conversations as if they really happened.”
“I don’t know what to do,” I whispered, covering my face with my hands.
“I can work with him, help him through this,” Linda offered.
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I shook my head. “I can’t afford that, Linda. I’m barely making ends meet as it is.”
Linda leaned forward, placing a hand on my arm. “Scarlett, I didn’t say I’d charge you. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“No, Linda, that’s not right. I can’t let you do this for free.”
“It’s okay. We all need help sometimes, and I’m here for you.”
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Tears finally escaped my eyes as I hugged her tightly. “Thank you.”
As she pulled back, Linda’s expression grew serious again. “One more thing, Scarlett. Sam told me that Jake is supposed to pick him up tonight, and they’re going somewhere together. Please keep an eye on him, but don’t intervene unless it’s life-threatening. We need to understand what he’s going through.”
I nodded. “Okay, thank you for everything, Linda.”
I picked up Sam, and we headed home. As we walked, I couldn’t help but ask, “So, you and Dad are going somewhere tonight?”
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“Yeah,” Sam said with a confident nod. “He told me to go outside the Green’s house at night and wait for him. He’s going to pick me up.”
“And where are you going?” I asked.
“Dad didn’t say, but I’ll come to visit you, I promise,” Sam replied.
I just nodded, feeling a deep ache inside. My poor Sam, I thought, as I held his hand a little tighter.
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That evening, as Sam was getting ready for bed, I spotted a walkie-talkie on his bedside table. They looked just like the ones Jake used to have.
“Sam, where did you get this?” I asked.
He looked up at me. “Dad gave it to me. He said this way I’ll know when to go outside to meet him.”
This really worried me. I hadn’t found any walkie-talkies when we moved out after Jake’s death, and something felt wrong.
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A few hours later, I heard a noise coming from Sam’s room. My heart skipped a beat as I quietly approached his door and peeked inside. To my shock, I saw Sam climbing out of the window.
Remembering Linda’s advice, I stayed calm. Since it was the first floor, I knew he wouldn’t get hurt.
I slipped out the front door and followed him from a distance, my nerves on edge. Sam headed straight for the Green’s house, just like he said. The street was empty, but then a car pulled up nearby.
A man in a hood got out, and I couldn’t see his face at first. My breath caught in my throat as he walked toward Sam. But then, under the streetlight, I saw his face clearly.
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It was… Jake. He looked just as he had before, alive. My heart pounded as I watched in disbelief. Jake took Sam’s hand, and they started toward the car. Suddenly, a police siren wailed, and red and blue lights flashed.
Officers who had been hiding nearby rushed out. I had called them when I found the walkie-talkie and asked for someone to guard the house.
Jake grabbed Sam, trying to flee, but the police were quicker. They stopped him, and I ran over to take Sam from Jake’s arms, holding him close as relief and fear overwhelmed me.
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“Jake, how is this possible?” I asked, my voice trembling.
“What did you expect, Scarlett?! I needed the money! I didn’t see any other way!” Jake yelled back.
“So you faked your death?!” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Yeah! I got the insurance money!” he shouted.
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“Do you even realize how much we suffered?!” I cried out. “And now you wanted to take my son away from me too?!”
“I could take better care of him! You’re barely making ends meet!” Jake snapped.
“That’s only because of you!”
“You never worked a day since Sam was born! Do you think it was easy for me?!”
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“You wanted me to stay home and take care of Sam!” I reminded him.
“He’s my son too!” Jake insisted.
“You abandoned him! You abandoned both of us!” I shouted.
“I would have given him a better life now!” Jake argued.
I shook my head. “You’re a crazy psychopath! Take him away,” I said to the police. They quickly put Jake in the car.
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As Sam and I started walking home, he looked up at me with wide eyes. “What will happen to Dad now?” he asked softly.
“What he deserves,” I replied, holding him close.
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