Boy Visits Pond Where He Used to Fish with Late Dad, Sees Dad’s Carbon Copy Watching from Afar – Story of the Day

After a terrible tragedy snatched away Mike's hero, he could only wish to see him again at his favorite spot by the pond. But when Mike turned his gaze, he saw a man who looked just like his father, except for the eyes. Who was this man?

There was a cozy old cabin in the woods, and it was home to a lifetime of memories for the Walker family, specifically for 11-year-old Mike.

For as long as he could remember, he and his parents would slip out of the city and drive to the cabin to spend the weekend with his grandfather, who lived there.

The fresh smell of dew-sprinkled grass and mud, the chirping of birds, and the mystic starry nights were etched in the little boy's mind, and his drawing books were full of sketches of that serene little piece of paradise on earth.

But the fondest memory of all was the time Mike would sit by the steps of the turquoise-colored pond with his father, Ryan, and his grandfather Geoffrey.

The three generations of men would talk for hours, opening their ironclad hearts, sharing many silly laughs and a few secret tears. All while dipping their toes and their fishing lines into the cool pond water, waiting for fish to catch on.

One time, the trio were enjoying a peaceful afternoon, lost in their own worlds, when Geoffrey said something surprising.

"40 years…it's been 40 years since I first came to this pond to fish. Do you remember that first time, Ryan? You were so excited!" Geoffrey shook his old head, thinking of that distant memory.

"Yeah, dad! I remember how I was scared to touch the water…but he…" Ryan's words faded into silence, and the smile disappeared off his face.

"Oh, you were so afraid of the water! But Dylan jumped right in. You remember the big noisy splosh and how Dylan thought he almost drowned?"

Geoffrey's face froze at the memory of that unknown man named Dylan, too. And seconds later, both Geoffrey and Ryan burst into laughter, imitating the boy named Dylan babbling angrily in the water.

"How dare you come here? After all these years? After what you did to us?"

The laughter of the father and son was too contagious for little Mike to ignore. "Who was Dylan?" he asked, breaking into laughter himself.

That question sucked the laughter out of the air, and there was only silence around, heavier than before.

Mike was confused as he saw his grandfather look away and touch his sleeve to his eye, while Ryan simply ruffled the boy's hair and sighed.

Mike wouldn't learn the truth about Dylan until months later, after being hit by the cruelest twist of fate. Ryan had tried to save a woman from getting hit by a bus in the street, and while he managed to pull her away, it was too late for him…

Suddenly, the world was alien in the little boy's eyes. There was an emptiness around him, a murmur, a perpetual blur. In the weeks that followed, Mike grew distant from the world and had no wishes but one.

"Mom," he hugged his mother's feet. "I want to go there. To the pond by the cabin in the woods. I bet I can still feel dad's presence there."

His mother obliged. The following day, he sat on the last step by the pond as his grandpa watched from the cabin window and cried.

"Dad…I can feel you here. I love this place just as much as you do. I'll always come by here whenever I feel alone. And whenever grandpa feels alone…"

"You're close, aren't you, dad? I feel like if I look over to the corner, I'll find you standing there, smiling back at me," Mike said, slowly turning his gaze to the corner where his father would often stand.

And when he looked, a familiar silhouette met his eyes. It had to be him. That face, that tearful smile, that bushy hair…

"Dad?" Mike called out, hoping this wasn't a dream.

He ran toward those arms, laughing, crying, sighing. But there was something different about the man's eyes. "It isn't you…" Mike said, taking a step back.

"Hi, Mike! I'm Dylan. I'm your father's twin," the man smiled through tears. "And I'm here to apologize…" Mike frowned in confusion because this was the first he was hearing of an uncle.

Geoffrey was fuming, pacing back and forth across the creaky floorboards of the cabin.

"How dare you come here? After all these years? After what you did to us?" the older man choked up as he raised his voice at his estranged son.

"I'm—I'm sorry, pa. I've done some terrible things to this family. I ran away from home, I took away all the money you and ma had saved up, including all the inheritance she had been preserving. I was greedy, and that made me blind."

"My greed had blinded me, pa. And I'm ashamed of who I was. And I thought there was still time, you know? I thought I would wait some more before I showed you my face again before I picked up the phone and called Ryan and apologized to him…"

"Ryan loved you! He forgave you before anyone else did, you fool! 'He's just a lost kid,' Ryan would try to make me understand. But you…you deserted us!"

Dylan's arms were trembling with guilt and shame, and he wept like a child who missed his only sibling. Geoffrey was still too angry to care, but Mike ran in and brought his uncle a glass of water to calm him down.

"Here you go…" Mike said and wrapped his hands halfway around Dylan's shoulders.

"What would dad have said, grandpa?" Mike asked Geoffrey, who turned around at that realization.

"He isn't here to speak for himself, so he must speak through us…I think," Mike said, reflecting on the words that came out of his inner voice.

"Pa!" Dylan knelt by his father's chair. "I know you can't just trust me, but let me earn it from you. Within the next week, every piece of property and possession I bought from the stolen money will be sold, and I will bring all of the money back into this house."

"I wasn't there for my brother, but please, I want to be there for his son. I promise I will work harder on my business and provide for his every need. Only then will I have the right to ask for your forgiveness, pa…"

Dylan hid his tears and began to walk out of the house when Geoffrey stopped him.

"This time, when you enter our lives, you cannot leave. Because my heart cannot take the loss of another son…" Saying this, the big old man melted into his son's embrace, and Mike threw himself into that hug, too.

It was the beginning of another season in the lives of the three men. Ryan was never replaced, and Dylan never took his second chance at family for granted. He remained the father figure in Mike's life and the son who took care of Geoffrey until he breathed his last.

What can we learn from this story?

• Don't wait too long to right your wrongs. Dylan kept delaying the thought of reconnecting with his father and brother to ask for forgiveness until it was almost too late.
• There is often a beginning hidden in every end. Though the grief of Ryan's passing was never forgotten, it brought his broken family together, starting a new chapter in each of their lives.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about another young child whose act of kindness ended up inspiring an old man to reconnect with his family.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.