My son said, “Mommy, when you were a little girl, and I was a man, I remember we danced in the garden behind the white tree.” My blood ran cold. The only person I ever danced in that garden with as a child was my grandfather. He had the most beautiful backyard, with a giant white oak that stood like a guardian of our memories. I must have been six or seven when he would turn on his old crackling radio and hold out his hand to me. I would slip mine into his, and together we’d dance barefoot in the grass, twirling under the shade of the white tree. It was our secret joy—something so ordinary, yet magical.
I never told anyone about those afternoons. Not my parents. Not my friends. Not even later in life when the memories became bittersweet after he passed away. It was something I carried quietly, like a hidden treasure in my heart. So how could my son, just five years old, know? He wasn’t even born when my grandfather was alive. And yet, he looked up at me with absolute certainty, as though he had been there. I swallowed hard and asked gently, “Sweetheart, what else do you remember?” His eyes sparkled as he continued, “You wore a yellow dress. I spun you around, and you laughed so much. You told me never to let you go.”
My knees weakened. I remembered that exact day. I had worn my favorite yellow sundress, and when I tripped mid-spin, my grandfather caught me in his arms. I had begged him, half laughing, half serious: “Don’t let me go.” And he had whispered back, “I never will.” I felt tears stream down my face as my son reached out and patted my cheek, almost as if he knew the weight of what he had said. In that moment, something shifted inside me. Maybe it was just a child’s imagination—or maybe love runs deeper than we realize, weaving through time, finding new ways to stay alive. Perhaps my grandfather had kept his promise after all, never truly letting me go.
I pulled my son into my arms and whispered, “Thank you for remembering. Thank you for carrying him with you.” That night, as I tucked him into bed, I glanced out at the sky and felt an odd peace wash over me. Some bonds don’t end; they simply find new beginnings. And maybe, just maybe, love never really leaves us—it just comes back in ways we least expect.
