Daniel hoped a weekend in the woods would help mend his strained relationship with his son, Caleb. But after a heated argument, Caleb storms off — and doesn’t return. As night falls, Daniel searches the dark forest, only to find footsteps that stop without a trace…
I hadn’t seen my son Caleb in over a month. Too long. But he and Megan lived in a different city now, way on the other side of the state.
A man driving a car | Source: Pexels
Each mile I drove toward my ex-wife’s house felt like another reminder of how far we’d drifted apart.
Years ago, weekend trips meant excited chatter and over-packed bags filled with his favorite action figure, too many snacks, and a flashlight he’d barely use.
Now, the silence stretched between us like a living thing.
A troubled man frowning | Source: Midjourney
The neighborhoods leading to Megan’s new place felt foreign, full of cookie-cutter houses, picket fences, and neat lawns. A far cry from our old place.
When I pulled into her driveway, my stomach knotted at the sight of Evan’s car. Of course, he was there. His sensible hybrid sat next to Megan’s SUV like it belonged there. Maybe it did now.
Megan answered the door, her expression carefully neutral. “Hi, Daniel. Caleb will be right down.”
My chest tightened at the sight of her. “Sure. Uh… how are you doing?”
A woman standing in an entrance hall | Source: Midjourney
Megan chewed her lower lip as though weighing her answer. Then Evan stepped into view, wiping flour from his hands with a dish towel.
“Hey! You must be Daniel. Nice to meet you. You want a cookie? The first batch just came out of the oven.”
He wasn’t particularly handsome or intimidating, just steady-looking. The kind of guy who remembered to buy milk and, apparently, baked cookies on a Saturday afternoon.
A smiling man wearing an apron | Source: Midjourney
He extended his hand, and I hesitated before shaking it. He was so friendly, but I resented him anyway.
“Oh, I’m sure Daniel wants to get going as soon as possible,” Megan cut in. She stepped away from the door, away from me, and called Caleb’s name.
When Caleb appeared, he was taller than I remembered. His shoulders were stiff, his expression guarded.
A sulky teen boy | Source: Midjourney
“Hey, Dad,” he mumbled, with no warmth in his voice.
Megan handed me his already-packed bag like she’d been counting the minutes until I’d leave.
“There’s extra socks in the side pocket,” she said. “And his allergy medicine, just in case.”
As if I didn’t remember my own son’s allergies.
“Thanks.” I took the bag. “I guess we’ll head out then.”
A person holding a backpack | Source: Pexels
Megan pulled Caleb into a hug and we headed to the car. As we drove away, I caught sight of Evan standing behind Megan in the rearview mirror, his hand resting on her lower back.
My jaw tightened. Part of me still couldn’t believe she’d moved on. Sure, the divorce was finalized months ago, and she’d moved Caleb across state chasing a job opportunity soon afterward, but… it felt like it had happened too fast.
I couldn’t help thinking we might’ve been able to fix things and be a family again if she could just sit still for five minutes with me.
A man glancing to one side | Source: Midjourney
The drive to the campsite was excruciating. Every attempt at conversation hit a wall.
“How’s school?”
“Fine.”
“And soccer?”
“Fine.”
“Your friends?”
“Fine.”
I watched him from the corner of my eye, this stranger wearing my son’s face. He’d grown so much in the past year. His jawline was sharper, losing its boyish softness. He had my nose, Megan’s eyes. When had he started looking so old?
Close up of a teen boy’s face | Source: Midjourney
“Okay then. Good to know everything’s fine.” I tried to keep my voice casual. “How’s, uh, things with Evan?”
Caleb tensed beside me. “He’s okay. He helps me with math.”
My stomach twisted, but I kept my tone even. “That’s good.”
He glanced at me like he could read every thought crossing my mind. “He’s not that bad.”
I forced a chuckle. “That’s a glowing review.”
“At least he’s there,” Caleb muttered, so quiet I almost missed it.
An emotional teen boy | Source: Midjourney
“You know I’m doing my best, bud. The distance, work… it would help if you spent more than a few minutes on the phone when I call, or answered my texts.”
He rolled his eyes at me and put in his earbuds. Conversation over. My fingers clenched on the steering wheel and I kept driving.
The road had turned to dirt miles ago, winding deeper into the forest, where the trees pressed closer with each mile. The air grew thick with the scent of earth and moss — it smelled ancient, like a place time forgot.
A dirt road through a forest | Source: Pexels
Shadows lengthened across the dashboard as the sun dipped lower. I pulled over near an overgrown path I’d scouted online. No fire rings. No facilities. Just raw wilderness.
“This is it?” Caleb asked, looking distinctly unimpressed.
“This is it. Real camping, like we used to do. You know, they say this is one of the oldest parts of the world?”
Caleb grunted. “We used to camp in state parks. With bathrooms.”
I ignored the jab and started unloading the car. The tent was new. I’d splurged on it for this trip. The old Coleman had gone to Megan in the divorce, along with most of our camping gear. Along with almost everything else.
Backpacks and camping supplies leaning against a car | Source: Pexels
While I set up camp, Caleb kicked at rocks with zero interest. The tent poles clicked together with satisfying snaps, muscle memory taking over despite the years since I’d last done this. I tried bringing up old family camping trips, hoping to spark some nostalgia.
“Remember that time we saw those baby raccoons? Must’ve been four, maybe five years ago?”
Caleb shrugged. “Sort of.”
“Your mom was so worried they’d get into the cooler, but you wanted to leave them hot dogs.”
“Yeah.”
A teen boy glaring at someone | Source: Midjourney
“You ever camp around here with your mom?” I hesitated. “With Evan?”
He shrugged again. “Nah. Some kids at school said people go missing out here, though. Like, forever missing.”
I chuckled. “Let me guess, Bigfoot snatches them?”
A smirk tugged at his mouth. “More like things that sound like people, but aren’t.” Then he waved it off. “I dunno. They’re just messing around.”
“Sounds about right. So, are you going to help me with this?”
A man pitching a tent | Source: Pexels
Caleb sighed and sulkily proceeded to be as ineffectually helpful as a 13-year-old could be. Eventually, the tent stood ready, a blue dome against the darkening sky.
“Here.” I tossed the sleeping bags at him. Instead of catching them, they hit him in the chest, one after the other.
“What the hell, Dad?” Caleb snapped.
“Hey, language!” I admonished him. “Lay out our sleeping bags and I’ll get the fire going.”
Caleb sniffed and muttered something that made me see red.
An emotional teen boy | Source: Midjourney
“…don’t care about me, just dragged me into the forest to boss me around.”
“What did you say?” I spun round to face him. “I brought you here so we could spend time together. Why are you acting like this?”
“You wouldn’t understand,” he mumbled.
“You could try,” I snapped back. “I’m your dad—”
He scoffed. “Yeah. When it’s convenient.”
That landed like a punch to the gut.
A man staring with wide eyes | Source: Midjourney
“You weren’t even around much before the divorce!” His voice rose. “You always had something more important to do. Now, suddenly, I matter?”
“That’s not fair,” I stammered. “I was working to provide—”
“Provide what? You weren’t there! Not for my games, not for school stuff, not for anything!” He kicked at the tent pole, making the whole structure shudder. “And now you buy some fancy tent and expect everything to be fine?”
An emotional teen boy yelling | Source: Midjourney
He shook his head, eyes bright with anger and hurt. “I don’t even know where I fit anymore. Mom has her new life with Evan. You have… whatever this is. Where am I supposed to be?”
Before I could respond, he turned and stormed into the trees.
I told myself to let him cool off. He’d come back. But as the sun dipped lower and shadows stretched longer, doubt crept in.
Sunlight shining through trees in a forest | Source: Pexels
The fire’s glow only reached so far. Beyond it, the woods stood in layers of black, the trees barely more than shadows against deeper dark. The silence felt wrong, like the forest was listening. Waiting.
“Caleb?” I stood at the edge of the woods, calling into the shadows. “Caleb!”
A beat of silence. Then my voice called back. “Caleb…”
I froze. Just an echo, I told myself. But it didn’t sound quite right. The inflection was wrong, like someone trying to mimic speech without understanding what the words meant.
A man staring into the forest | Source: Midjourney
I grabbed my flashlight and headed into the trees. The beam caught fragments of the forest: moss-covered trunks, tangles of ferns, the occasional flash of eyes low to the ground — probably just raccoons or deer.
I followed Caleb’s footprints until they abruptly stopped. No signs of turning back. No signs of where he went. I called for him again but heard only the weird echo of my voice.
The trees were old here, their branches weaving so tightly overhead that they swallowed the sky. The air felt heavy, pressing in from all sides.
A forest during twilight | Source: Pexels
No wind stirred the leaves. No birds called. Just the distant drip of water and the occasional creak of shifting wood.
Up ahead, a shape stood between the trees. Too tall. Unmoving.
My heart hammered. “Caleb?”
“Caleb,” my echo repeated. “Caleb?”
The flashlight flickered. The shape remained still, watching as I drew closer.
A man staring apprehensively in a forest | Source: Midjourney
It was just a twisted tree. Relief flooded me, but unease lingered.
Then I heard Caleb’s voice calling, and I ran toward it without thinking.
I nearly stepped right into the gully. It yawned open just past the tree line, a steep drop masked by fallen leaves and ferns.
My flashlight beam caught Caleb at the bottom, half-covered in dirt. His face was pale, eyes too wide.
“Dad, help!”
A teen boy calling out to someone | Source: Midjourney
I slid down without hesitation. The earth gave beneath my boots, sending me skidding. I landed hard, hands scraping against damp rock.
“Are you hurt?”
He shook his head, but his gaze flicked to the darkness beyond. “I’m okay, Dad, but… I don’t think we’re alone down here.“
My pulse spiked. “What do you mean?”
A frightened man speaking to someone | Source: Midjourney
“Something chased me in the woods. I heard… I heard you calling me, but it wasn’t you. All those stories the kids told me at school… I think they’re true.”
“Calm down. I was calling you. The echoes here are just… weird.”
The gully was deeper than I’d first thought. The walls stretched high, the trees above forming a jagged black crown against the night sky. Something moved nearby. I swung my flashlight around, and the beam landed on a shape a few yards away.
Caleb let out a shaky laugh.
“It’s just a deer.”
A deer in the forest | Source: Midjourney
The deer took a slow step forward, its legs moving in a way that didn’t quite look right. Each joint bent like a puppet being manipulated by inexpert hands.
“Dad…” Caleb frowned. “Look at how it’s moving. Maybe it’s injured?”
I lifted the flashlight slightly. The deer’s eyes did not reflect the light normally. Instead, they seemed to draw it in and devour it. An icy chill ran down my spine and my chest squeezed tight.
I kept my voice steady. “Come on. If it’s hurt, we shouldn’t be near it. Could have rabies. We need to get out of here.”
A terrified man in a forest | Source: Midjourney
He hesitated, then nodded.
We scrambled out of the gully. Neither of us looked back. The sound that followed us wasn’t hooves on leaves: it was the wet slap of something soft dragging itself across the ground.
We both broke into a run. The sound grew louder, faster, tearing through the underbrush behind us as we ran.
The campfire’s glow grew closer through the trees, but just as we glimpsed the site, Caleb yelled, “Dad!”
A man staring back fearfully | Source: Midjourney
I turned back. He was gripping his ankle and grimacing, and that sickly sound was drawing closer.
I threw Caleb over my shoulder and sprinted for the fire. I didn’t know what was dragging itself through the forest after us, but I felt certain that if I found out, it would be the last thing I did in this life.
We collapsed by the fire. I grabbed one of the logs I’d gathered and spun to face the trees, wielding it like a weapon.
A man holding a log facing a dark forest | Source: Midjourney
There was nothing there. Even the sound had stopped. I stood there a few more minutes, just to be certain it was safe, and then I put the log on the fire and crouched down beside Caleb.
Caleb had pulled his knees to his chest. He looked younger suddenly. Smaller. I started tending to his ankle, and neither of us spoke for a long time.
Finally, he muttered, “I didn’t mean what I said before.”
I shook my head as I rifled through the first aid kit. “Yeah, you did. And you were right.”
A first aid kit on a bag in a campsite | Source: Pexels
He sighed. “I just don’t know where I fit anymore. Everything’s different.”
My throat tightened. I exhaled, rubbing a hand over my face. “You fit here. With me. Even when things are messed up. Even when I mess up.”
He looked at me, doubtful. “Even if we don’t see each other much?”
“Even then. Look, I know I haven’t been… I haven’t been the dad you deserve. But I want to do better. I want to be here. Please, just… let me.”
A small, quiet understanding passed between us. He leaned slightly against my side and we stared into the campfire.
A campfire | Source: Pexels
“That thing in the woods,” he said after a while. “What do you think it was?”
“I… don’t know. A deer, a sick deer. But it looks like we’re safe here by the fire.”
We climbed into the tent soon afterward. Caleb drifted off first. I watched him sleep, feeling closer to my son than I had in a long time.
His features were softer in sleep, younger. I saw traces of the little boy who used to crawl into my lap during thunderstorms, who believed his dad could fix anything.
A teen boy sleeping | Source: Midjourney
Maybe things weren’t perfect, but this was a start. Tomorrow we’d head home, back to our complicated lives and shared custody schedules, but something had shifted tonight, some small repair in the fraying bonds between father and son.
Somewhere in the darkness beyond our fire, a deer barked.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
My Husband Insisted on Homeschooling Our Daughter — I Gasped When I Found Out Why
When Mia’s husband, Ben, suddenly starts talking about homeschooling their six-year-old daughter, Lily, she’s surprised. Months earlier, they had been talking about sending the little girl to private school. So, what changed? Mia finds out when she overhears a conversation between Ben and Lily…
This all started a few months ago at a dinner party. My husband, Ben, and I were sitting with a few friends when, out of the blue, he brought up the idea of homeschooling our daughter, Lily.
An aerial view of people at a dinner party | Source: Midjourney
“It’s the system, you know? It’s too rigid, too focused on tests,” Ben said, leaning forward in his seat like he had discovered the secret to the universe.
“Kids need to be free to explore their creativity. I don’t want Lily’s imagination boxed in. She needs to feel things between her fingers and experience life,” he continued.
Ben reached forward to help himself to the bowl of mashed potatoes.
A casserole of mashed potatoes | Source: Midjourney
Everyone at the table nodded, murmuring in agreement.
“Honestly, that’s so true,” our friend Sarah chimed in as she sipped her wine. “Schools just kill creativity. I wish I had done something different with my kids. Last year, Jasmine wanted to show off her creativity through her uniform, but they didn’t accept it at school. She got a suspension warning.”
I remember glancing at Ben, completely surprised at how passionately he was speaking. He had never once mentioned anything about homeschooling before. In fact, he had been talking about us getting our six-year-old into private school.
A little girl in her school uniform | Source: Midjourney
But here he was, talking about homeschooling like he’d been thinking about it for years.
“We could teach her ourselves, Mia,” Ben continued, glancing over at me with a smile. “Think about it, love. No strict schedules, no standardized tests. She could learn at her own pace.”
I nodded, trying to process everything.
A smiling man | Source: Midjourney
“Yeah, I mean, it does sound good,” I agreed. “But we need to explore all options about it first.”
I was hesitant. But I was also unsure of why I felt a slight unease creep up on me. Although when Ben spoke so passionately, it was hard not to get swept up in the dream of it all.
After that night, Ben kept bringing it up. At home, over dinner, in passing conversations, he’d make little comments all the time.
A concerned woman | Source: Midjourney
“Lily would be so much happier if she wasn’t stuck in a classroom all day.”
“We could help her learn things that matter, Mia, not just what’s on some test.”
Eventually, I started to believe that he might be right.
Before I knew it, we had decided to pull Lily out of her school and start with the new routine of homeschooling. Ben took charge of everything.
A little girl using a computer | Source: Midjourney
“Like the gifts we talked about? You’ll deliver them, right?”
He had always been more involved with her school meetings, so I trusted him completely. And look, at first, everything seemed to be working. Ben would sit with Lily during “school hours,” and he’d proudly show me the projects they’d worked on when I got home from work.
“I’m glad she’s happy,” I told Ben one evening when I was loading the dishwasher.
A woman loading a dishwasher | Source: Midjourney
“She’s more than happy, Mia,” he said with a smile. “She’s thriving. Look at this! She made a solar system model all on her own.”
But then one day, I came home early from work, eager to show Lily the new set of watercolor paint I had gotten for her. I walked in quietly, not wanting to disturb whatever lesson she and Ben were doing.
And that’s when I heard Lily crying.
A concerned woman | Source: Midjourney
“But Dad, I miss my friends!” Lily sobbed. “They probably think I don’t like them anymore. I’m sure they think we’re fighting! They’ll be so mad at me for not going to school…”
I crept closer to the dining room, which had become the classroom. And I heard Ben’s voice, low and soothing.
“Lily-girl,” he said. “I told you, we can send them little gifts, okay? They won’t be mad at you.”
An upset little man | Source: Midjourney
Lily sniffled, but her tone lifted a little.
“Like the gifts we talked about? You’ll deliver them, right?” she said.
Deliver gifts? What on earth was my child talking about?
“Yes, darling,” he said.
A frowning woman | Source: Midjourney
“Like when you let me come with you when Mommy had to work? You’re going to deliver my friends’ gifts just like when you bring packages to people, right?”
I froze. I tried to piece the information together before storming in and demanding answers.
Ben wasn’t homeschooling Lily out of some grand educational philosophy that he had been talking about endlessly.
An upset little girl | Source: Midjourney
Instead, my husband was delivering packages. All those days that I thought they were doing lessons… what had really been happening under my roof?
“Get your answers, Mia,” I muttered as I walked into the dining room.
Ben’s face turned white when he saw me.
A close up of a shocked man | Source: Midjourney
“Care to explain what on earth Lily is talking about?” I asked.
My chest felt tight, like I was just holding it all together before some horrible news came out.
Ben let out a long breath, running his hands through his hair.
“Honey, why don’t you go play on the swing or watch some TV?” Ben told her.
We waited until Lily was happily running outside to the swing before Ben said another word.
A little girl sitting on a swing | Source: Midjourney
“I… I lost my job, okay? Months ago. I didn’t know how to tell you, Mia.”
I blinked, trying to process his words.
“I didn’t want you to think I was a failure.”
“You lost your job? Then what on earth have you been doing all day?”
“The homeschooling. It wasn’t about Lily’s education. It was because we couldn’t afford the tuition anymore. And I know that a few months ago I wanted her to go to private school, but I couldn’t even afford her public school fees.”
A close up of an upset man | Source: Midjourney
Ben paused, holding his head.
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to retaliate.
“I’ve been delivering packages. It’s not stable, but it’s for a few hours a day. I take Lily with me in between her homeschooling. I know you think that I’ve been working in the study and then teaching Lily, too…”
A man holding two boxes | Source: Midjourney
“You’ve been delivering packages? Really? This whole time?” I asked, stunned. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“I didn’t want you to think that I was a failure,” Ben said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I didn’t know how to fix this situation. But you know how stressful my job was toward the end. Those hours killed me. I thought that maybe if I could just keep things together for a little while longer…”
A frowning woman | Source: Midjourney
I shook my head, trying to wrap my mind around everything. I wanted to be angry.
I wanted to shout at my husband, not because he lost his job, but because he didn’t want to tell me about it. I understood the pressure of losing your job suddenly and then having to put yourself back together.
When I was pregnant with Lily, I lost my job because they couldn’t afford to keep paying me while I was on maternity leave.
A pregnant woman sitting on a couch | Source: Midjourney
But Ben carried us right up until Lily was three years old.
I shook my head now, trying to shake some of my thoughts. I felt… sad. Sad that Ben had felt like he had to hide this from me.
“Ben, you didn’t have to do this alone,” I said, reaching toward him.
He smiled at me sadly.
A close up of a woman | Source: Midjourney
We put Lily back into school the next week using our savings. She was overjoyed to see her friends, and the guilt Ben had been carrying around began to lift when he saw her running toward them at the school gate.
As for Ben, he found another job as a grocery store manager. It wasn’t his dream job, but it was honest work that came with medical benefits. And honestly, I think it was just the fact that he was earning properly again that made the biggest difference to him.
A man standing in a grocery store | Source: Midjourney
There was a lightness back in our home that hadn’t been there in a long time. A sense that we were moving forward, together.
What would you have done?
A smiling couple with their daughter | Source: Midjourney
If you enjoyed this story, here’s another one for you |
Am I Wrong for “Hiding” My MIL’s Birthday Present to My Husband after Finding Out What Was Inside?
Tired of allowing her cold and callous mother-in-law to ruin her husband’s birthday, Lila hides Carol’s birthday present from Bill to save him the hurt and disappointment that usually came with his mother’s gifts. But when Lila’s secret comes out, a series of events unfolds.
I could tell my husband, Bill, was nervous. His birthday was coming up, and every year, his mom’s gift felt like a slap in the face.
Bill sat on our worn-out couch, his shoulders tense.
A man sitting on a couch | Source: Midjourney
“Do you think she’ll actually care this time?” he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
I sighed, placing my hand on his. I didn’t know what I was supposed to say. I knew that I needed to reassure him, but my husband’s relationship with his mother was complicated.
“Maybe,” I said. “But remember, we’re celebrating your birthday, not hers. We’ll have a great time, no matter what, darling.”
A couple holding hands | Source: Midjourney
Bill smiled at me, but it didn’t reach his eyes. I knew how much he wanted to feel loved and appreciated by Carol, but she always failed to show him that. It wasn’t just about the gifts. It was about the feeling.
Bill had told me the story a long time ago. He was his mother’s son from her first marriage, and their relationship was strong, but things took a turn when Carol met her second husband, Adam.
It became even worse when Bill’s younger brothers were born. Suddenly, Carol only had eyes for Adam and their sons, making it clear to Bill that he was no longer a priority in her life.
A mother and her sons | Source: Midjourney
“Okay,” he said. “This year will be different.”
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
Leave a Reply