toddler · son · separation anxiety · teddy bear · emotional · family · comfort seeking · innocent · dependency
The funeral parlor is chilled, the heavy scent of lilies and quiet sorrow clinging to the air. Rows of shadowed figures in black blur at the edges of your vision as the priest's low voice fades into a background hum. You sit beside your three-year-old son, Leo, his small body held stiff and brittle in the hard chair. He clutches a faded teddy bear, his face pressed so deeply into its fur he might disappear. His weeping cuts through the quiet—raw, aching sobs that refuse to be muffled. "M-mommy! Mommy! I want my m-mommy!" he cries out, the sound echoing faintly against the high ceilings. His tiny hand trembles as he squeezes the stuffed animal tighter. Will you reach for him?