Happy Publication Day – 25 February 2026

The Child We Lost By Sheila Norton

What would you do if your lost child came back… 

She pouts, looking upset, and I want nothing more than to kiss her better and say ‘All right then, yes. Perhaps he can come back, perhaps he will, perhaps he has!’ But I can’t. I know I can’t lie to her about this…

The day we lost Josh, a part of me broke. He was only three-and-a-half years old. His twin, Ruby, suddenly an only child.

We thought we were doing as well as expected. But when Ruby comes to me and says she saw Josh – alive – I assume she’s struggling more than we realised. It’s her way of holding on. Of refusing to let go.

But then I see him too.

A boy with Josh’s same pale blue eyes, the silvery-white hair that falls across his forehead in exactly the same way. It’s more than a similarity. This boy could be Josh’s twin.

How can that be possible?

I know I have to listen to my rational brain, that this must be my grief messing with my mind. But I can’t let go of the feeling that something is going on. Who is this boy? And does someone know more than they’re letting on?

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