Hi, my name is Emily, and I’m a mom to a curious five-year-old boy named Harry. Things were going well in our lives until Harry disappeared at a nearby fair. I thought the day would be fun and full of memories, but it turned into my worst fear.
Harry’s excitement was clear as we walked through the fair. While I bought ice cream, he ran ahead to watch a clown make balloon animals. He wasn’t there when I turned around to give him his cone, though.
I became scared as I desperately looked for Harry by yelling his name and asking everyone if they had seen him. When the cops showed up, we looked all over the carnival for Harry but couldn’t find him.
We went back to the park the next morning and that’s when I saw him. He was holding a small box and standing right where we had been looking. He told me, “Mommy, I’m fine,” which made me feel better. “God took me.”
I couldn’t believe what Harry said about the person who took him. A star-shaped scar on his face, close to his ear. It was an old scar from my ex-partner Michael that I knew all too well.
As more and more of the truth came out, I realized I might have made a very big mistake. The moment Michael showed up at my door, I had to face the past. He denied cheating on me and then told me the shocking truth: my best friend Lisa had drugged him and planned the whole thing.
When I looked into Michael’s eyes, I saw pain and sorrow. His goal was to be a part of Harry’s life and show me what he could do. As time went on, I saw Michael and Harry’s relationship grow, and my heart started to melt.
Michael reached out and grabbed my hand one night as we sat on the porch. He said, “We both did wrong.” “But we have an opportunity to make things right – for Harry, and maybe even for us.” I felt warm inside, like there was a chance that we could make what we lost happen again.
