Lara was in the middle of a busy Friday afternoon when her phone rang. It was her 6-year-old son, Ben. His voice was barely a whisper.
“Mommy… I’m scared.”
As a single mom balancing work and parenting, Lara was used to stressful days. But nothing could have prepared her for the fear that came with those words.
Ben had been home with Ruby, their trusted 21-year-old babysitter. Ruby had been part of their lives for over a year. She was calm, kind, and Ben adored her.
But now, something was wrong.
“Where’s Ruby, sweetheart?” Lara asked.
“I don’t know… she was standing, and then she wasn’t. I think she’s hurt.”
Ben was hiding in a closet. Ruby had collapsed. She wasn’t waking up.
Lara ran out of work without thinking twice and drove home, heart pounding.
When she arrived, the house was silent—too silent. She called out for her son.
“In the closet…” came a small voice.
She found Ben curled up, clutching his stuffed dinosaur. He was shaking, but had not cried.
“I tried to help her,” he said.
On the floor nearby was Ruby—unconscious. A pillow was near her head. A cold pack sat on her forehead. The phone had been pulled from the drawer. It was clear Ben had tried everything he could.
Lara called for help. Ruby was rushed to the hospital. Doctors said she had collapsed from dehydration and low blood sugar.
But the emotional toll on Ben was harder to treat.
Two years earlier, he had been the one to find his father after a fatal heart attack. Now, at just six years old, he thought it was happening again.
That night, Lara sat with Ben, holding his hand as he drifted off to sleep.
He had done everything right. And he had acted with courage no child should ever have to summon.
Being a parent isn’t always about protecting your children from pain. Sometimes, it’s about being there when they face it—and helping them carry what they shouldn’t have to.
