At first, Jamie was happy after Maya left the house. He didn't cry or ask where she had gone. In fact, he smiled more and looked excited. That was because Lena, his favorite "Auntie Lena," had finally moved in.
She brought in her soft perfumes and pretty clothes. She smiled at him often and cooked him sweet pancakes in the morning. Jamie thought, This is what a perfect family looks like. And Lena treated him like he was her own child—at least for the first few days.
But something slowly began to change.
Jamie didn't notice it right away. But as the days passed, he started to feel something different about Lena. She wasn't as warm as before. When Jamie would run into the room, eager to show her a drawing he made at school, she would just nod without even looking.
"I'm busy right now, Jamie," she said, waving her hand like she was brushing away a fly. "Later, okay?"
Jamie stood there, holding his drawing. The crayons had smudged a little from how hard he pressed. "Okay…" he said softly and turned to walk away.
Still, he didn't say anything. Grown-ups had work. That's what Maya always said. Jamie told himself he had to be patient. But day after day, Lena's soft smiles grew fewer, and her voice became sharper. She scolded him when he dropped his spoon, frowned when he spilled juice, and once even yelled when he accidentally stepped on her high heels.
"Do you know how expensive those are?!" she snapped.
Jamie felt a lump in his throat.
But Maya wasn't here anymore. He had asked for her to leave. He had pushed her away.
One cloudy afternoon, after school, Jamie stood by the gate waiting to be picked up. Most of the other children had already gone home. One by one, their parents arrived—smiling, waving, hugging them tightly.
Jamie kept looking around.
Five minutes passed. Then ten.
He sat on the bench, hugging his backpack.
The teacher noticed him still sitting alone and walked over. "Jamie, is someone coming to get you?"
Jamie nodded. "Auntie Lena is coming."
The teacher looked concerned. It was starting to drizzle. "Let me call your parents just in case."
She took out the contact card from her folder. There was only one emergency number listed—Maya's.
The teacher called the number.
Maya was in her studio, working quietly. Her hands paused when she saw the unknown number on the screen.
"Hello?" she answered.
"Hi, is this Jamie's mother?"
There was a long pause.
"I used to be," Maya said finally.
"This is Mrs. Collins from Jamie's school. He hasn't been picked up, and it's getting late."
Maya's heart clenched for a moment, but she forced herself to stay calm. "I'm sorry. I'm not responsible for him anymore. Please call his real mother."
The teacher sounded confused. "There's only your number here."
Maya closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I can't help."
She ended the call. Her chest tightened as she stared at her phone. But she didn't call back.
Jamie sat quietly on the bench, watching as rain began to fall harder. The school had closed. Only the teacher and the janitor remained. The sky had darkened.
It wasn't until after dinner time that Daniel finally came home. He was busy with work and hadn't noticed the time. He took off his coat, ready to call out to Jamie, when he noticed something strange.
The house was too quiet.
"Where's Jamie?" he asked Lena, who was lounging on the sofa scrolling through her phone.
Lena blinked. "Jamie?" she echoed. Then her eyes widened. "Oh no… I forgot to pick him up!"
Daniel's face turned pale. "What?!"
"I was really busy today, Daniel. I had meetings and deadlines—"
He didn't wait to hear the rest. Grabbing his keys, he rushed out the door.
When he arrived at the school, Jamie was still sitting inside the office. His eyes were red, and he looked tired. The teacher had given him a sandwich, but he hadn't touched it.
"Jamie!" Daniel called, rushing in.
Jamie looked up but didn't say anything.
Daniel knelt in front of him. "I'm so sorry, buddy. I didn't know. I thought Lena picked you up."
Jamie just nodded and got up slowly.
On the way home, Daniel tried to talk to him. "It won't happen again, okay? Lena was just really busy. Grown-ups forget things sometimes."
Jamie whispered, "It's okay."
But inside, something had shifted. For the first time, he wondered if Maya would have forgotten him like that.
When they got home, Lena hurried to the door, looking guilty. "Jamie, I'm so, so sorry. I lost track of time. Can you forgive me?"
Jamie looked at her for a moment, then gave a small nod. "Okay." Before leaving for his room