Lately, the young parents began to notice strange things in their older son’s behavior. Every morning, exactly at six o’clock, he woke up by himself — without an alarm, without reminders. The boy quietly got out of bed, got dressed, and carefully made his way to the room where his younger brother, only one year old, was sleeping. With incredible delicacy, as if he were afraid to disturb the whole house, he would take the baby out of the crib and carry him to his own room.
At first, the mother smiled at this sight. She thought: “Maybe he misses his little brother so much and wants to spend more time near him.” But the strange thing was that this happened every morning at the same time, with such precision, as if it were a secret ritual.
A week passed. The mother started wondering whether there was something more behind this. She became uneasy. Why exactly six in the morning? Why did her son never miss a single day?
One day she decided to follow him. Getting up early, she pretended to sleep and observed.
Exactly at 6:00, the older son, as always, entered the room, approached his brother’s crib, and with care — adult, almost parental — held the baby close to him.
At that moment, the mother couldn’t take it anymore and spoke:
— Son, why are you doing this?
The boy froze. For a second it seemed like he would get scared and run away. But then, hugging his little brother tightly, he quietly said something that horrified his mother
Continuation in the first comment
— Mom… You were talking to Grandma recently. I heard everything. You were complaining that it’s hard for you, that little brother doesn’t let you sleep every night… And then I heard you say that you want to give us to an orphanage so you could rest at least a little.
The woman’s heart clenched painfully.
— Son… what are you saying, I was joking, — tears trembled in her voice.
The boy shook his head and hugged his brother even tighter:
— I just wanted you to rest. So that little brother wouldn’t bother you in the mornings. That’s why I took him to my room. Just please, don’t send us to the orphanage…
The mother felt her breath catch from guilt and sorrow. She fell to her knees, hugged both of her sons tightly, and with trembling in her voice repeated:
— Forgive me, forgive me, my dear… I will never, never give you away.
At that moment she understood that children hear and feel much more than adults think. And sometimes one careless word can plant in a child’s heart a fear of losing the most precious thing forever.
