\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

I still remember the day Jason left four years ago. He has been depressed for a couple of months now, and this was the first time in a long while I\u2019ve seen him so excited, restless.\n $\"A$ \n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

He said he needed some time in nature, alone. \u201cJust me and Scout,\u201d he\u2019d said, scratching behind Scout\u2019s ears as our kids laughed.\n

\u201cAre you sure you don\u2019t want company?\u201d I\u2019d asked, holding our then-toddler son, Benny, while my four-year-old, Emily, clung to my leg.\n

Jason just smiled and shook his head. \u201cNah, I\u2019ll be back before you know it. Promise.\u201d\n

But he never came back.\n

At first, I thought he\u2019d gotten lost. Maybe hurt. The search teams kept trying to find him. Our friends, our neighbors all showed up to help, calling his name, searching the mountains. It felt surreal, like a bad dream I couldn\u2019t wake up from.\n $\"A$ \n

\n\n

But days turned to weeks, and the search teams started looking at me with pity, as if they\u2019d already made up their minds.\n

Eventually, they said, \u201cWe\u2019ve done all we can.\u201d\n

People started saying things like, \u201cYou\u2019re strong, Maggie,\u201d and \u201cYou\u2019ll be okay.\u201d But every word felt hollow. Jason wasn\u2019t just missing; he was gone. After months, they declared him legally dead. I hated those words, but what could I do? Life had to go on.\n

Over the years, little things have kept Jason alive in our home: his old hiking boots by the door, his coffee mug with a chip on the rim, the wool scarf he loved. The kids sometimes ask about him, and I tell them stories, trying to keep his memory alive.\n $\"A$ \n

\n\n

Sometimes, late at night, when the house is silent, I let myself remember. I wonder if I could\u2019ve done something different that day, maybe convinced him to stay.\n

Then, one afternoon, everything changed.\n

It was a quiet Saturday, sunny with a light breeze. I was lying on a blanket in the backyard, watching the kids play, feeling a rare sense of peace.\n

Out of nowhere, something rustled near the bushes. I squinted, thinking it was a squirrel or maybe one of the neighbors\u2019 cats. But then I saw a dog, thin and scruffy, walking slowly toward me.\n

At first, I didn\u2019t recognize him. But when I looked closer, my heart skipped. \u201cScout?\u201d I whispered, hardly believing it. It was Jason\u2019s dog. Older, thinner, his coat dirty and matted, but it was him.\n

\n\n

\u201cScout!\u201d I called louder, sitting up, barely breathing. The dog stopped, looking at me with tired eyes. In his mouth, he held a green jacket, frayed and faded.\n

I knew it instantly. I\u2019d washed it a hundred times, seen him wear it on so many hikes. I couldn\u2019t believe it. I felt my whole body tense, frozen between shock and hope.\n

\u201cScout, where did you come from?\u201d I whispered, inching toward him. But as soon as I reached out, Scout turned and started trotting away, disappearing into the trees.\n

\u201cNo\u2014Scout, wait!\u201d I called, but he didn\u2019t stop. Something inside me said to follow, even if I didn\u2019t know where he was leading me.\n

\u201cKids, stay here! Don\u2019t move!\u201d I grabbed my phone and car keys, my hands shaking. \u201cMommy\u2019ll be back soon, I promise.\u201d\n $\"A$ \n

\n\n

Emily looked up, concerned. \u201cWhere are you going, Mom?\u201d\n

\u201cI\u2026 I just have to check something, honey,\u201d I managed to say, my voice barely steady. She nodded, her wide eyes watching me as I took off after the dog.\n

Scout kept a steady pace, leading me through the edge of our neighborhood and into the forest. I struggled to keep up, ducking under branches, slipping on damp leaves. My heart pounded as I ran, a mix of hope, fear, and disbelief fueling me.\n

\u201cScout, slow down!\u201d I called, but he stayed just ahead, leading me deeper and deeper into the trees.\n

Scout paused briefly, looking back to make sure I was still there. His eyes seemed to say, Keep going.\n

\n\n

I couldn\u2019t tell you how long I\u2019d been walking. My legs ached, every step heavier than the last, and the forest seemed endless, twisting around me as if it wanted me lost. Scout kept looking back, urging me on, like he was as desperate as I was.\n

And then, just as the light started to fade, I saw it.\n

The cabin sat low and quiet, blending right into the thick of the woods. It was so tucked away you\u2019d miss it if you didn\u2019t know where to look. Smoke drifted faintly from an outdoor firepit, and a makeshift clothesline was strung between two trees. There were footprints in the mud outside. There was someone here.\n

\u201cJason?\u201d I whispered, my voice almost too small to carry. My heart was pounding, my mouth dry. This couldn\u2019t be real.\n

\n\n

With my breath catching, I walked up to the window. And there, inside, moving around like he\u2019d never left, was Jason.\n

He looked\u2026 different. His hair was long and messy, a rough beard covering half his face. He looked wild, like he\u2019d lived outside for months. And he wasn\u2019t alone.\n

A woman was there with him, standing close, her hand brushing against his arm. Her hair was tangled, and her clothes looked patched and worn. She stood like she belonged there, like this was her home. Like he was her home.\n

My hand flew to my mouth as I stifled a gasp. My mind raced, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. No. No, this isn\u2019t real. But every second I stood there, staring in through that dirty window, the truth sank deeper.\n

I pushed the door open, feeling a strength I didn\u2019t know I had. It creaked loudly, and they both turned toward me, their eyes widening in surprise. Jason\u2019s mouth fell open, his eyes darting over me like I was a ghost.\n

\n\n

\u201cMaggie\u2026\u201d he breathed, his voice calm, too calm, like he\u2019d been expecting me.\n

\u201cJason.\u201d My voice wavered, but I held his gaze. I glanced at the woman, then back at him. \u201cWhat is this?\u201d My heart felt like it was breaking all over again. \u201cWhere have you been?\u201d\n

He glanced at the woman beside him, who just stood there, looking at me like I was the one out of place. \u201cI was\u2026trapped, Maggie. That life wasn\u2019t me. Out here, I\u2019m free. I can breathe. I\u2019ve found something real, something I couldn\u2019t have\u2026back there.\u201d He gestured vaguely to the woods, as if that was his new life.\n

\nI stared at him, barely able to comprehend it. \u201cYou left us,\u201d I said, feeling my voice crack. \u201cYou left your kids, Jason. They think you\u2019re dead. I thought you were dead.\u201d\n

\n\n

He looked down, rubbing the back of his neck. \u201cI\u2026I know it\u2019s hard to hear. But I\u2019ve become one with nature now. Sarah and I\u2026we\u2019ve built a life. A simple, meaningful life.\u201d His words sounded empty, robotic, like he\u2019d convinced himself of this story so many times he believed it.\n

I took a step back, feeling the anger boil over. \u201cSo that\u2019s it? You just walk away from everything? From your family? You didn\u2019t even try to let us know you were okay?\u201d\n

He closed his eyes, sighing deeply, like I was the one causing him pain. \u201cMaggie, you wouldn\u2019t understand. That life felt like a prison. Now, I\u2019m living it to the fullest.\u201d\n

\u201cA prison?\u201d I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper. \u201cIs that what we were to you?\u201d\n

\u201cMaybe if you weren\u2019t so obsessed with your cursed technology, you could come worship nature like we did,\u201d Sarah hissed, looking at me like I was a lunatic.\n

\n\n

Jason opened his mouth to speak, but I raised my hand, cutting him off. I didn\u2019t want to hear it. Didn\u2019t want to listen to his empty excuses or hear how \u201cfree\u201d he felt now. I wanted to scream, to cry, to tell him exactly how much he\u2019d shattered our lives.\n

But looking at his empty, detached expression I knew it wouldn\u2019t matter. He\u2019d made his choice long ago.\n

Without another word, I turned and walked out of that cabin. I didn\u2019t look back. I didn\u2019t need to. The Jason I loved was gone. Maybe he\u2019d been gone long before that day he disappeared, and I was just the last one to realize it.\n

The walk back felt longer, heavier. Every step was one more reminder that I was leaving a piece of my life behind, a piece I\u2019d never get back. I barely noticed the trees, the growing shadows, the ache in my legs. My mind was numb, my heart hollow.\n

Back home, I wasted no time. I walked straight into a lawyer\u2019s office the next morning, barely able to say the words, but knowing I had to.\n

\u201cI want a divorce,\u201d I said, my voice stronger than I felt. \u201cAnd I want support. If he has any assets, my kids deserve them.\u201d\n

The lawyer nodded, looking at me with sympathy. \u201cWe\u2019ll make sure you and your children are taken care of, Maggie.\u201d\n

As I left, a strange calm washed over me. I\u2019d spent years waiting, grieving, and wondering if Jason would come back. But I finally understood that he wasn\u2019t coming back, and even if he did, he wasn\u2019t the man I\u2019d once loved.\n

Now it was my turn to choose. I needed to make a life for my children rooted in love, stability, and honesty. Jason had taken one path, but I was taking mine. And I was never looking back.\n\n

Then, one afternoon, everything changed. It was a quiet Saturday, sunny with a light breeze. I was lying on a blanket in the backyard, watching the kids play, feeling a rare sense of peace. Out of nowhere, something rustled near the bushes. I squinted, thinking it was a squirrel or maybe one of the neighbors\u2019 cats. But then I saw a dog, thin and scruffy, walking slowly toward me.\n