I Stumbled Upon a Headstone in the Woods and Saw My Childhood Photo on It – I Was Shocked When I Learned the Truth

That Saturday, we decided to go on a mushroom hunt behind the cottage.

It wasn’t for anything fancy or borderline dangerous as far as mushrooms go; just the kind that Lily could sauté in butter and garlic while Ryan boasted about his foraging skills.

Brandy barked at everything that moved. Ryan ran ahead of us with a plastic bucket, swiping at ferns like they were dragon tails.

It was the kind of day that settles into your memory before it even ends.

Until… it got twisted.

Suddenly, Brandy’s bark changed.

It dropped an octave, immediately alerting me, and then he growled — low and with warning…

I looked up, and my son was gone.

“Ryan?” I called out. “Hey, buddy — answer me! This isn’t a game, okay?”

Brandy’s barking grew sharper ahead of me, echoing somewhere just beyond the trees.

“Keep him safe, Bran,” I muttered to myself.

“I’m coming.”

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