I came across my missing son’s teddy bear in the street, only a few houses from where he vanished five years earlier.

Mr. Bear

Five years ago, my son Timmy disappeared. His last words:
“I never lose him.”
He meant Mr. Bear, his stuffed companion.

Weeks turned into months. My husband Ethan gave up. He left. I never stopped searching.

Five Years Later

Walking the neighborhood, I saw a dirty bear in the gutter — Mr. Bear.
Across the street, Ethan’s truck sat in the driveway.

A boy appeared. Eight years old, freckles, my son’s eyes.
It was Timmy. Ethan had hidden him all this time.

Hi, Junebug

I went to the police. That night, officers moved in. Ethan tried to stop us, but Timmy recognized his bear.
“Mommy made that,” he whispered.

I held him for the first time in five years.

Timmy is alive.
And I’ll never let him go again.