We’re having a quiet Halloween this year. We live out in the country and have no little kids trick or treating at our door. I think the 1/2 mile long driveway through the trees in the dark is a little intimidating. So life at the Wood household goes on as normal. My older two kids are going to a party, and the twins are at the age where they are too old to act silly (gasp).

I have to tell you all something that happened at the store. I’m still shaking over it.

The little grocery store I go to was very busy Saturday. I was the third person in line at the cash register. When the woman in front of me put her items on the counter a little boy ran up to her and slapped down a candy bar. The woman turned to the boy and said, “You’ll have to get in line, honey.”

The little boy frowned. “But Mom, you promised to buy me candy.”

She shook her head. “I’m not your mother, dear.”

When she handed the candy back to the little boy (he must’ve been 5 or 6 years old), he put the candy back on the counter and stood beside her.

The woman quickly scooped it up, and spoke to the cashier. “I’m not paying for the candy. I don’t know who this kid is.”

The little boy stuck out his lower lip and his eyes filled with tears. “Mom. It’s me Timmy.”

By this point, I’m watching what happens with interest. The boy was on the verge of crying, and he was so young. Too young to walk through the store by himself.

“I’m not your mom.” The woman grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. “Your mom is probably in the back of the line. You better go find her.”

“Why are you saying that? You’re my mom. You promised if I was good, you’d buy me a candy bar.” The boy reached out and wrapped his tiny arms around her waist.

This just got to me, because his little fingers clutched at the hem of her sweater, holding on with all his strength.

The woman looked up and swept her gaze through the line of customers behind her, shrugged, and mouthed, he’s not my son.

I have four kids. I am a mom. If a child needs help, there is no way I’m going to stand by and not ask if I can help him.

I kneeled down, and stroked the child’s bare arm. “Do you need help finding your mom? Is she shopping?”

He shook his head. His tears were running into the corner of his mouth. “This is my mommy. I don’t know why she’s lying.”

I stood up and stared at the woman. I could tell she was getting upset, even mad. Before I could say anything, she pushed the boy away from her and said, “He’s not my son! I don’t know who he is, but I’m not his mom.” Then…

And, this still gets me, and I can’t stop thinking about it.

The woman left her groceries and ran out the front of the store. The boy was so shocked, he stood there staring after the woman, his arms stretched out in front of him. His lips were moving, but no sound came out.

I reached for him, but he jumped away from me and ran through the doors out to the sidewalk. I glanced behind me at the other customers waiting in line, and no one followed them. I left my cart, and hurried outside. What I found still has me shaking as I write this post.

The woman was struggling to climb into the driver’s seat of her small car. The door was open, and she kept screaming, “Get away from me! You’re not my son!”

The boy was wailing and pleading, “Mommy! Mommy! Don’t leave me. It’s me Timmy. Mommy!”

The woman’s face hardened, and the little boy wrapped his tiny arms around the woman’s leg and started pulling…just like I’m pulling your leg!

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lol Did I get you? Were you caught up in the Halloween trick? I heard this story at a Halloween party when I was a teenager. It scared me to death. Every year since I always tell someone who hasn’t heard it before. This is the first time I’ve written it out, and it is so much better telling it in person…trust me. I’ve had people crying, and dabbing their eyes thinking the story was real. It’s not! It’s just a little Halloween spook story. Happy Halloween, be safe!