Unplanned Absence

“Mommy, when will Daddy be back?”

Bret held his father’s baseball cap in one hand and a baseball in the other.

“He won’t, sweetheart,” his mother replied, her voice heavy as she hugged him.

Bret’s face fell.

“Why?”

“He’s on a new journey, a new adventure,” she whispered, tears streaming.

2024 Copyright Caro Henry

Photo by Jacob Rice on Unsplash

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Unplanned Absence was originally published in Sum & Substance on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.