When Tom’s parents died, his brother, Dylan, left him at an orphanage with a promise: “I’ll COME BACK FOR YOU.” But Dylan vanished, and for 23 years, Tom waited for answers. A chance meeting brought them face-to-face, uncovering a truth that shook Tom and forced him to make an impossible choice.
There’s a haunting loneliness that comes from being forgotten by the one person who’s supposed to protect you. I know it well. I was four years old when I lost everything. My parents died in a car crash on a chilly autumn morning.
I don’t remember much about that day — the screech of tires, a stranger lifting me out of my parents’ crumpled car, and the way my brother Dylan held me close as I cried into his shirt. He was 18, my protector, and my hero. I thought he’d always be there.
A sad little boy holding a teddy bear | Source: Midjourney