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He gave me a puzzled look, like I had just asked the most obvious question in the world. “My daddy… Caspian.”

My heart hammered against my ribs so loudly I could hear the pulse in my ears.

“Kaidence, stop playing. That’s not something to make jokes about.”

“I’m not making a joke, Mommy,” he said earnestly, sitting up straight. “Daddy was on the playground by the big tree. Those three boys were picking at me, and the air got super cold, like when you open the freezer door. Then Daddy talked to them, but they couldn’t see him at first. They got scared and started asking who was there.”

My mouth fell agape.

“And then what happened?” I was almost afraid to ask.

“Then Daddy showed up. He was tall, and he had on a black hoodie and that shiny gold chain from your picture.” Kaidence’s eyes lit up with excitement. “He told them they were bad at business and asked if their mamas taught them manners. And then he told them the story about Bad-Mouth Benny.”

I stared at my son, completely paralyzed. “Bad-Mouth... Benny?”

“Yeah! Benny was a bully who got scared because a giant shadow with glowing red eyes lived under his bed. Daddy told them if they didn't leave me alone and share their crayons, the shadow was gonna check their homework at night.” Kaidence let out a little giggle. “The boys started crying real hard, Mommy. The one with the runny nose almost peed his pants. They promised Daddy they’d be nice from now on.”

I couldn’t speak.

The words were locked in my throat.

Caspian had made up that ridiculous Bad-Mouth Benny story years ago after Willow spent an entire breakfast clowning me about the noise coming from my room the night before. She kept asking questions she had no business asking, making little comments about why I was walking so slow, until Caspian finally told her that Bad-Mouth Benny was a ghost who came after nosy-ass people who listened outside grown folks’ bedroom doors and talked too much about what they heard.

Willow had laughed in his face and told him he was full of shit.

Then later that night, Caspian stood outside her bedroom door scratching lightly against the wood and whispering, “Bennyyyy,” until she screamed loud enough to wake Granny.

She never admitted he scared her, but she also never stood outside my bedroom door again.

I had never told it to him, and Willow certainly hadn’t, so to my knowledge Kaidence had never heard that story.

“Kaidence...” My voice cracked, barely above a whisper. “Did you... did you touch him?”

Kaidence looked down at his small hand, flexing his fingers. “I tried to touch his arm, but my hand went right through his sleeve. It felt like cold air and tickles… like static on the TV.”

Tears burned the backs of my eyes, blurring my vision.

“Baby… your daddy has been missing since before you were born. We don’t know where he is.”

Kaidence nodded slowly.

“I know, Mommy. But he was here today.” His little brows pinched together, and he added, “I think.”

HONK! HONK!

A loud car horn blared behind us, shattering the stillness.

I jumped, whipping my head around. The traffic light was bright green, and three cars were queued behind my Range Rover, the front driver waving an impatient hand out of his window.

“Shit!” I cursed, throwing the truck back into drive and hitting the gas.

From the backseat, Kaidence gave a sharp little gasp. “Mommy, you said a bad word! Daddy said bad words make your mouth taste like cemetery dirt!”

I gripped the steering wheel with both hands, staring blankly through the windshield as the road blurred ahead of me.

My mind was spinning at a hundred miles an hour, desperately grasping for logic, reason, anything that made scientific sense.

He’s five years old.