Mommy Loves You

CW: violence, child abduction, human trafficking

Today is April 31st...again. I stared blankly at my phone screen. My mind flickered back to that dream I had a while back. A dark shadowy entity stood in a field of sunflowers. It's voice echoed something in my mind.

"You can save him."

Then, I woke up and something felt off. I grabbed my phone off of the nightstand to check the time. It was 3:06 am, April 31st, 2025. A day that couldn't possibly exist. I went on about my day like normal. No one else seemed to notice that something wasn't right. Every day I wake up, it's the same day over and over. I have that same dream too. I've tried everything to escape this nightmare.

I drifted off back to sleep until my alarm sounded. I rolled out of bed to get ready for work.

I worked at a small coffee shop that was owned by my foster mother, Leanne. She was in her 60s, still working hard to keep her grandmother's shop up and running.

"Sorry for the lateness, ma." I said as I rushed in.

I swapped out my jean jacket with a hot pink-colored apron that was hanging on the back of the office chair. It was a morning rush, so I quickly locked in.

When it slowed down a bit, I brewed fresh coffee and put out fresh blueberry glazed donuts. I went to go talk to ma shortly after.

"You seem a bit out of it today," she spoke in a soft tone. "You've lost weight too. Are you eating properly, Gaia?" she asked as she focused her honey brown eyes on me.

That was something I've gotten used to by now.

"Yes ma, I always eat properly." I chuckled.

"Alright, I'm just a little worried that's all. Oh! I need you to close tonight. Jimmy can't make it in." She mentioned before going out back for a smoke break.

On my lunch break, a fight between three men always broke out like it does every day. The police arrive to break it up shortly after. The rest of the day goes by, I close the shop, and walk about three blocks to get home. But, something different happened today.

I noticed something strange happening across the street. A tall, fat, man wearing a blue plaid shirt, black pants and a baseball cap that looked way too small, was walking with a kid. That left me feeling uneasy.

The rest of the day went by like normal. I closed down the shop and headed home. In the shower, I thought about that man with the little boy. Then that voice played in my head again.

"You can save him."

I stood in the steaming hot water in silence for a while. How could you have been so blind, Gaia? I scolded myself. He was right there the entire time and I never saw him. A clue that I missed everyday because I've gotten so used to this strange phenomenon.

I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. This realization was a game changer. Maybe if I save that little boy, I might break free from this loop.

Before bed, I thought of ways that I could help him over and over again. How could I save him without being too obvious or getting myself or him hurt.

I've dreamt about the sunflower field again. The shadowy figure that stood in the middle wasn't there this time. Only a small table with a picture on the top. I walked over slowly to the table and picked up the picture. It was a photo of a family. A mother with beautiful blonde hair and ocean blue eyes.

She wore an emerald stone necklace and a strapless blue floral dress. A cute baby boy sat in her lap. He was smiling from ear to ear with his chubby, rosy cheeks. He had the same blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. In fact, he was a spitting image of her. "Mommy loves you" was written in black marker in the bottom left corner.

I woke up feeling anxious but locked in. I wanted all of this to be finally over. I called my mother to inform her that I am taking a mental health day. She instantly approved because she was big on mental health.

I waited across the street from the cafe in my car all morning. I researched cases of missing kids in Little River. The results were astounding. There were fourteen missing children cases that were never made public and were swept under the rug.

My blood boiled but I had to keep my composure. It wasn't too long now before the fight broke out and the police show up. If I was wrong about this, I'd ruin everything. I reached into my glove compartment, and pulled out a taser. I gripped it tightly in my hand.

As soon as the police came, the man and little boy were right by my car window. I swung open the passenger door so fast that it knocked the wind out of the man. His hand slipped from the boys. I hurried and climbed across the seat before he could get up. I gave him a taste of 50,000 volts of this taser right in his stomach. The man yelped as his body twisted and convulsed.

The little boy stood there horrified. I quickly ran over to him and alerted the police.

"HELP!" I yelled to the top of my lungs.

The man started to get up, groaning and reaching for me and the boy. I yelled again as we moved away from him.

The crowd and police drew their attention to us. A cop came rushing over. I explained to him what happened, and they quickly took the man into custody. I took a good look at the little boy. He looked older, skinnier and paler but it was no mistaking those ocean blue eyes and blonde hair.

After that day, I found out that the little boy's name was Charlie, and his mother, Irene, was killed just a month ago. Charlie was taken and held captive in a basement for weeks. The man that was captured goes by the name Matthew Fisher. He was a part of a large human trafficking ring and was wanted for murder, kidnappings, and heavy drug usage.

I haven't dreamt about the sunflower field anymore and there wasn't a time loop. I was ecstatic to wake up to May 1st, 2025. The following days were nothing but questioning with the police and interviews with local journalists. I just told them the mother of the boy came to me in a dream and asked me to save her son. I still wonder, why did Irene choose me?

I attended Irene's memorial a week later. I brought a big bouquet of sunflowers. The flowers that connected me to her. A chill wind brushed past, carrying a faint scent of sunflowers.

"Thank you." said a soft voice.

I looked up at the sky and smiled, with my chest feeling light.