Every Sunday, my son, Mark, and I would take a walk together.
We’d been taking these walks for two years now, ever since my wife died.
No matter how tired I was, no matter how much paperwork waited on my desk or how many emails sat unanswered, we walked. Just the two of us.
Mark needed it. Heck, I needed it too.
Every Sunday, my son, Mark, and I would take a walk together.
He’s a bright kid. Gentle in ways that scare me sometimes because the world isn’t gentle back.
Since his mom passed, everything feels sharper for him. He flinches at sudden noises and asks questions I don’t know how to answer.
He watches me like he’s waiting for me to disappear, too.
Some days I still forget she’s gone. I’ll turn to tell her something, and the space where she stood is just empty air.
Since his mom passed, everything feels sharper for him.
Those moments gut me every time, but I can’t let Mark see that.
I can’t let him know that his dad is 36 years old and doesn’t have a clue how to do this alone.
So we walk.
That day, the sky was that pale blue that looks washed out. A few other families were out, along with the usual assortment of couples walking dogs and joggers with earbuds.
It was a perfectly normal day, until it wasn’t.
Those moments gut me every time, but I can’t let Mark see that.
We were halfway around the lake when he stopped so suddenly that I almost bumped into him.
“Mark?”
He didn’t answer. He was staring down into the grass like he’d spotted buried treasure. Then he crouched, reached out, and pulled something free from the weeds.
A teddy bear.
He stopped so suddenly that I almost bumped into him.
And not just any teddy bear — this thing was disgusting.
The fur was matted and muddy, one eye was missing, and there was a big rip in its back. It looked like the stuffing was lumpy and dry.
Anyone else would have left it there, but Mark clutched it tight against his chest.
“Buddy,” I crouched beside him, “it’s dirty. Really dirty. Let’s leave it, okay?”
His fingers tightened around the bear.
Mark clutched it tight against his chest.
“We can’t leave him. He’s special.”
His breathing changed. I saw that look in his eyes — the faraway, “about to cry, but trying so hard not to” look that broke me every single time.
“Alright. We’ll take him home.”
When we got back, I spent an hour cleaning that bear. Maybe longer.
“We can’t leave him.”
It would’ve gone faster if I’d soaked the teddy, but Mark asked if he’d be able to sleep with it that night.
To ensure it would dry fast enough, I avoided getting it too wet.
I soaped it up, gave it a good scrub, then used the wet and dry vacuum to suck up all the dirt. It took a couple of passes before it looked clean.
Last of all, I disinfected it with rubbing alcohol.
It took a couple of passes before it looked clean.
I carefully stitched up the torn seam in the back.
Mark watched the entire time, standing close, touching the bear every few minutes like he needed to make sure it stayed real, asking when Bear would be ready.
That night, when I tucked Mark into bed, he held Bear close. I stood there for a moment, watching him fall asleep.
Then I reached down to adjust the blanket one more time, and something happened that shook me to the core.
When I tucked Mark into bed, he held Bear close.
My hand brushed Bear’s belly.
Inside, something clicked.
Static burst from the toy’s core. Loud. Sudden.
Then a voice, tiny and trembling, seeped through the fabric.
“Mark, I know it’s you. Help me.”
My blood turned to ice.
Static burst from the toy’s core.
I stared at the bear, my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat.
That wasn’t a song, a prerecorded giggle, or some creepy toy malfunction.
That was a human voice.
A child’s voice.
And they had said my son’s name out loud.
They had said my son’s name out loud.
I looked at Mark.
He was still asleep, miraculously.
Then I grabbed the bear as gently as I could, sliding it from Mark’s grip without waking him.
I backed out of the room, easing the door almost closed.
My mind was racing through terrible possibilities.
I grabbed the bear as gently as I could
Was this some kind of prank? A surveillance device?
Was someone watching us?
I carried the bear down the hall like it might explode.
In the kitchen, I set it down on the table under the bright overhead light and ripped open the seam I’d so carefully closed a few hours earlier.
Was someone watching us?
Stuffing spilled out onto the table. I reached inside and felt something hard.
I pulled it out and stared at it in shock.
It was a small plastic box with a speaker and a button, all held together by duct tape.
While I was examining it, the voice spoke again.
“Mark? Mark, can you hear me?”
I reached inside and felt something hard.
If it had been an adult voice coming through that speaker, I would’ve handled things very differently, but this was a child, and they were asking for help.
I couldn’t just ignore that.
I pressed the button and leaned closer to the bear. “This is Mark’s dad. Who is this?”
The line went dead.
This was a child, and they were asking for help.
“No, no, wait,” I said quickly, pressing the button again. “You’re not in trouble. I just need to understand what’s going on.”
Static hissed.
Then a shaky voice came through.
“It’s Leo. Please help me.”
The name hit me all at once.
A shaky voice came through.
Leo.
The boy Mark used to play with at the park every weekend. He had a bright laugh and was constantly scraping his knees.
But he’d stopped showing up a few months ago.
Mark had asked about him once or twice, then stopped asking. I’d assumed they’d moved or switched parks.
“Leo, are you safe right now?”
The boy Mark used to play with at the park every weekend.
But Leo didn’t reply.
The static hissed for a few seconds, then went quiet. I pressed the button once more.
“Leo? Hey, buddy. I’m still here. Please, talk to me.”
Nothing.
I sat at the kitchen table for hours afterward, staring at the bear, and wondering if Leo was okay.
Leo didn’t reply.
In the morning, Mark padded into the kitchen in his socks, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
“Where’s Bear?” he asked immediately.
“He’s okay. I’ll give him back to you, but we need to talk about something first.”
Mark climbed onto his chair, legs swinging. He watched me closely.
“Do you remember Leo?” I asked.
His face lit up. “From the park?”
“Where’s Bear?”
“Yeah. Did he seem… different the last time you two played together?”
Mark frowned. “He didn’t want to play tag. He just wanted to sit. He said his house was loud now.”
That caught my attention. “Did he say why?”
Mark shrugged. “He said his mom was busy. And that grown-ups don’t listen when you tell them stuff.”
“Did he seem… different the last time you two played together?”
“Did he ever tell you where he lived?”
Mark nodded. “The blue house, a block away from the park. We pass it when we’re walking on Sundays.”
“The one with the white flowers near the mailbox?”
Mark nodded.
I knew what I had to do next.
“Did he ever tell you where he lived?”
After I dropped off Mark at school, I didn’t go straight to work.
I drove to the blue house where Leo lived.
I told myself I was just checking. That I’d make up a reason if I needed one. I didn’t plan it beyond that, because planning would’ve meant admitting I was worried.
When I knocked, the door didn’t open right away.
I could hear movement inside. A TV. Voices overlapping.
I drove to the blue house where Leo lived.
Finally, Leo’s mom answered.
She looked surprised to see me, then embarrassed, like she’d been caught off guard in her own life.
“Oh, hi,” she said. “You’re Mark’s dad, right?”
“That’s me,” I said, relieved she remembered. “Sorry to bother you. I know this is random.”
She smiled politely. “It’s fine. What’s up?”
She looked surprised to see me.
“I wanted to ask about Leo,” I said. “Mark’s been wondering why he hasn’t seen him at the park.”
Her smile faltered.
“Oh, yeah. We’ve just been adjusting. I got a promotion at work, and it’s been a bit crazy. I don’t have as much time as I used to.”
I nodded. “I feel really awkward doing this, but we need to talk about your son. He’s not doing okay.”
Her smile faltered.
She arched her eyebrows. “What would you know about my son?”
I told her the truth — but gently — about the bear, the device inside it, and how Leo had used it to plead for help from my son.
She covered her mouth with her hand as I spoke.
“Oh my God,” she said quietly. “Leo…”
I told her the truth — but gently.
She told me that Leo hadn’t been himself lately.
She’d tried to make time for them to go to the park together, but she often had to work over the weekend to keep up with her new duties at work.
I stayed for almost an hour.
By the time I left, plans were already forming.
She’d tried to make time for them to go to the park together.
That Saturday, we met at the park.
We were close to that same spot near the lake where Mark found the teddy when Mark spotted Leo and his mom.
The boys didn’t hesitate. They ran toward each other.
When they collided, it was awkward, hard, and perfect.
Mark spotted Leo and his mom.
The bear sat between them on the ground while they played.
Leo’s mom, Mandy, and I talked nearby about schedules and school, and how maybe we could all do better at slowing down.
When it was time to leave, Mark hugged Leo again.
“Don’t disappear again,” he said.
Maybe we could all do better at slowing down.
“I won’t,” Leo promised. He then turned to me. “I was so sad without my friend, but you saved me! Thank you.”
Now they meet every other weekend. Sometimes more often.
And when I tuck Mark in at night, Bear sits on the shelf above his bed.
It doesn’t speak anymore, which is exactly how it should be.
But I know better now than to ignore the quiet things, the things that ask for help without knowing how to say it out loud.
It doesn’t speak anymore, which is exactly how it should be.