It all started on Sunday night when Jack returned from staying at Grandma’s. He’s ten years old and usually quite a handful—full of energy, a little spoiled, and not very interested in following rules. But this time, he surprised Mia by cleaning up the dinner table all by himself without anyone asking him to! He even washed off the food from the plates before putting them in the dishwasher, which I had been asking him to do for months, but he never did it until now. “Thanks, buddy,” I said carefully, wiping my hands. “What’s gotten into you?” Jack shrugged, his face blank as he studied the crumbs he was sweeping into his palm. “Nothing, Mom. Just helping out.” This was the same boy who had spent the whole year trying to avoid doing his chores, like he was scared of catching a sickness. I stood by the counter, almost waiting for him to take off a disguise and show that he was someone else. Something about how he changed so suddenly felt a bit strange and too perfect. “Good night, Jack,” I said, stroking his hair. “Good night, Mama.” There was the same strange seriousness in his voice that had been there all evening; too serious for a boy his age. He pulled the blanket up to his chin and added quietly, “Don’t worry so much.”

I froze. “Worried about what?” “Nothing,” he said quickly, closing his eyes. “I love you.” By Tuesday, the house was really clean. Jack was folding laundry and humming a little tune while he did it. He also only played video games for thirty minutes, which I hadn’t made him do in a long time. I cornered him after school, kneeling to level with him. “Jack, you’ve been great lately. But… I need to know. Did Grandma say something this weekend?” Jack’s face moved a little. “Sort of,” he said. “Like what?” I asked kindly, trying to stay cheerful even though I felt a little worried inside. He shifted his weight and looked at the floor. “On Saturday night I heard her and her boyfriend talking in the kitchen. About you. They thought I was sleeping.” His voice was trembling, but I didn’t interrupt. I could tell he was mustering up his courage. “They said…” he glanced at me, his lip trembling. “They said you’d soon be on your own. Take care of me, work, take care of the house. And that, um, it might destroy you.” I sat down. “Jack—”

“Mom, I don’t want you to break,” he said hastily. “That’s why I wanted to help. I don’t mind, really.” “You’re a really good boy, Jack, and I’m proud of you, but you don’t have to worry about that, okay? That’s my job.” He leaned his head on my shoulder, but the words “You’ll be on your own soon” kept playing in my mind even after he went upstairs. I was really curious about something. The next morning, I drove to my mother-in-law’s house. I was so nervous that I held the steering wheel really tight, and my hands turned pale. When I got there, Daphne opened the door and smiled like she always does, but her smile went away when she saw how worried I looked. “Mia, is everything okay?” she asked. “We need to talk,” I said and walked past her. I wasted no time with pleasantries. “Jack overheard you this weekend. He heard you say I’d be ‘all alone soon.’ What do you mean?” Her face went white, and she started pouring coffee to keep herself busy and didn’t look at me. “He wasn’t supposed to hear that,” Daphne whispered.

“But he did,” I insisted, raising my voice. “Why do you say that?” She sat down slowly and folded her hands. “Mia… I didn’t mean for it to come across like that. But you deserve to know.” Her words came out hesitantly, each one harder than the last. “It… it’s a family tradition, Mia. Every man in Ethan’s family has to do this when he turns 35.” She frowned. “Do what exactly?” “It’s a rite of passage,” she said, her voice tight. “They go into the wilderness, completely alone. No tools, no contact. Just them and the elements. It’s supposed to build resilience and strength, help them find clarity.” I blinked in disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” “I wish you were,” she said quietly. “It’s been like this for generations. Men are tested,” she said, barely above a whisper. “Some die there. Others… come back changed. But this has been going on for over a century. Ethan has known this his whole life.”

Her eyes were shining with tears. “His birthday is in three weeks, Mia. And I’m scared.” The air felt heavy around us after she told me her secret, like a big rock had landed in my heart. Ethan was lounging on the couch, staring at the TV without really seeing it. I stood in the doorway for a moment, my heart beating loud in my ears. “When were you going to tell me?” I asked, my voice shaking but loud enough to break the quiet. He turned around, surprised. “What do you want to know, sweetie?” “I want to know about your family’s special tradition of pretending to be Paul Bunyan in the woods!” I said angrily. The guilt in his eyes was immediate and unbearable. “Mia, I-” “Don’t you dare call me ‘Mia’!” I exploded, stepping closer. “You’ve known about this… this thing your whole life, and you didn’t tell me? You just let me walk around in the dark like an idiot?” His jaw tightened. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” I let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “Oh, you didn’t mean to scare me? This is rich. You’ve been carrying this, this time bomb, and now, three weeks before it goes off, I’m supposed to just… what? Smile and wave as you march into the desert?” Ethan leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and his head down. “It’s not easy,” he said.

“Not so simple?” My voice became rough and choppy. “You’re risking your life for what? For some outdated, barbaric ritual? Are you even listening to yourself?” “It’s not just a ritual,” he snapped, finally meeting my eyes. “It’s who we are. It’s an expectation. If I don’t go -” “What would you do?” I interrupted, stepping closer to him. “Bring shame to your family? That’s your excuse? What about your family, Ethan? What about us?” Jack was standing in the doorway, holding his stuffed dinosaur, looking worried. “Is Dad leaving yet?” he asked quietly, barely above a whisper. Ethan and I stopped moving, and it felt really quiet between us. My throat felt tight, and I almost cried. I wondered how much he had listened to. I dropped to my knees, pulling Jack close. “No, honey,” I whispered, stroking his hair. “Daddy’s not going anywhere now. It’s okay.” I looked at Ethan and saw that he was really sad, just like I was. But nothing felt good or right. Each day felt harder than the one before. Even though Ethan was trying to be strong, I couldn’t stop feeling angry and scared. At night, I couldn’t sleep because I kept thinking about all the bad things that could happen.

Jack kept being really helpful, and he felt very happy about it. He didn’t notice that there was a lot of stress in the house for a different reason. It made me really sad. One evening, I saw Jack cleaning the kitchen floor very carefully, and I realized something important: he believed that I might have to do everything by myself in the future. He was trying to help me and keep me safe in his own special way. I said I needed to go to the bathroom, and then I quietly cried. How can I help Jack if he might lose his dad because of something I don’t understand? And how can I ask Ethan to stay without hurting him? Right now, I didn’t know what to do, but I really hoped our family would be okay. While we waited, I enjoyed every little moment with the man I loved and our son, who was getting older way too fast.