This is a heart-warming short story submitted to us by Karyn Prange-Stuart. If you have a story or article you would like to share, please contact us at yourchildyourdivorce@gmail.com.

Luke was a normal boy with a normal family. He had a dad, a mom, a sister, and a dog. Everything was going along pretty well until his parents decided to get a divorce and, then, something weird happened to Luke.

Luke could remember when his family was happy. Well, he could almost remember; he was pretty small when his parents first started to argue. Over the years, there were more and more arguments and there was, well, more yelling. He hated it when they disagreed. He hated it when his dad was mad and his mom was sad. But, now, he hated “divorce,” even more.

His dad said that his mom made him leave. His mom said that his dad made it impossible for them to be happy. Luke thought they were both to blame. He thought they didn’t care about he and his sister. He thought that they were being selfish. He thought a lot of things—but he didn’t tell anyone what he thought.

One morning, Luke woke up and got dressed for school. It was a normal day. It was a “Mom Day”, not a “Dad Day.” A “mom day” meant that mom would come to get Luke and his sister after school—they wouldn’t see dad today. So, it wasn’t really normal-normal; it was the “new-normal.” It was normal until Luke looked down at his feet and noticed that they were blue! They weren’t blue like when you’re cold. And, they weren’t blue because he had sweated in blue socks. They looked blue because his skin was clear and his feet were filled with water! Quickly, Luke put on his socks and shoes. “My parents don’t need anything else to worry about right now,” he thought. “I’m not going to tell them about this.”

The following morning, Luke woke up and got dressed for school. It was a regular day. It was a “Dad Day.” Luke was happy that he would see his dad today.

He loved his mom very much, but he missed spending time with dad. He started to smile and, then, he remembered his feet. He looked down at the blue feet only to find that the water was now up to his knees! “What’s going on?” He thought. Luke was scared, but he didn’t tell anyone. After school, his dad was too busy at work and couldn’t come to pick him up. When his mom came, the water was up to his shoulders; but he didn’t tell her.

Over the next few days, the water kept on rising. Finally, it was up to Luke’s neck. It was getting harder and harder to keep it a secret. His mother asked him one day, “Luke, don’t you think it’s a little warm for a turtle-neck sweater?” He just shrugged his shoulders and mumbled something about being cold.

While Luke was turning blue (and keeping it a secret) he and his mother went to an office to talk to a lady. His mother said that the lady was a “counselor” and that she would help them to feel better about the divorce. Luke doubted that was possible. But, the lady was nice and talking with her did make him feel a little better. When he left the counselor’s office, he noticed a little goldfish was swimming around in his stomach. It tickled.

At home, Luke felt better and chase played with his sister; they giggled and ran around the house. Luke could feel the tickling of more little fish. They swam up and down his legs. The fish were playing chase with each other—just like he and his sister. “Maybe this isn’t so bad?” He thought.

On Saturday morning, Luke ran in the bathroom and looked in the mirror. He had dreamed that the water was gone and that he was back to “normal.” But, instead, as he stared at himself in the mirror, the water began rising!

The little fish swam back and forth. “ I’m going to drown!” His voice screamed in his head. He called his sister into the bathroom. “Lily! Look at me! I’m almost completely filled with water!” Lily looked at him and began to cry. “Don’t be a baby,” he scolded her, “I’m not scared. I’m not going to cry. But, why do you think this is happening to me?” Lily said she didn’t know. “But,” she said, “the water is filling up your face, Luke!” He turned back toward the mirror and saw that she was right—his head was completely filled with water! It was time to show mom.

Naturally, Luke’s mother was very concerned and took him to a doctor immediately. The doctor said, “I have no idea what’s happening. Does it hurt?” Luke said he couldn’t really tell if it hurt. “I can’t feel it,” he said, “I can’t really feel anything.”

When Luke went back to school, he felt like other kids were looking at him. He knew that they thought he looked strange. Luke figured out that if he acted “mean,” the kids would stay away from him. He discovered that if he were rude to adults, they would leave him alone, too. Pretty soon, everyone stayed away from Luke. “It’s better,” he thought. “At least I don’t have to explain to anyone why I’m blue.” If he didn’t know why he was blue, how could he explain it to anyone?

As Luke sat in his classroom, the water behind his eyes made it hard for him to see the chalkboard. The water in his ears made it hard for him to hear what the teacher was saying. When his mom came to pick him up, she smiled at him, hoping he would feel better. But he didn’t see her smile—because of all the water—he just walked silently to the car.

Later that afternoon, Luke’s teacher called his house and told his mom that he wasn’t doing very well in school. His mother cried. His sister put her arm around her mother. Luke just walked back to his bedroom. He didn’t like all the fuss about him. He wished everyone would just leave him alone.

That night, while Luke lay in bed, he heard his parents whispering in the living room. At first, he was excited that his dad and mom were talking. But, then, he got scared that they might be arguing. He got up and hid in the hall, listening. Soon he realized that they were talking quietly; they weren’t yelling or fighting. He heard them say his name. They were talking about him. Luke walked into the living room and stared at them.

His parents looked up. They stared at the water that filled him from his feet to his hair. They both looked so sad to Luke. “We don’t understand what’s wrong with you, Luke,” his mother said softly to him. “Yeah. What’s wrong with you, Luke?” His father asked him.

“What’s wrong with me?” What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you!” Luke screamed! “Why can’t you two get along? Why can’t you two live together anymore?” Luke asked angrily. He stood there. Completely see-through. Completely blue. His parents took his hands and sat him down on the couch. “We can’t live together anymore,” his mother said quietly, “but we still love you very much. We want to be good parents for you, and we both want you to be happy, again.”
His dad looked him straight in the eyes and said, “We want to do things with you and your sister, go places, and have fun times, again. Maybe your mom and I can’t be with you at the same time, but one of us will always be there for you.

“Your mom and I have realized that we don’t act our best when we are together and that’s why we aren’t going to live together, anymore. But, we will always be your mom and dad. That won’t change. We will always spend time with you, and we will always be a part of your life.”

Luke stood up. And, then, Luke started to cry.

He started to cry really hard. He cried so hard that he could barely catch his breath. The water began to pool in his eyes and stream down his face. Like a giant flood, the river inside of him began to spill out. Large puddles of water flooded down his body and gathered at his feet. The little fish flopped onto the floor.

“The fish!” Luke wept, “Save the little fish!” His mother ran and got a glass bowl. The bowl filled with the water that was pouring out of Luke’s eyes. She handed it to Luke’s father. He grabbed the tiny fish off of the floor and put them in the bowl and set it down on the coffee table. Luke fell onto the couch. Finally, all of the water was out of Luke’s body. His skin was beige again. His lips and cheeks were pink, again. He was exhausted.

Luke’s mother and father put their arms around him. “You kept a lot inside of you. Didn’t you, Luke?” His mother whispered. “You were very blue,” added his father.

“I didn’t know what was happening,” Luke said. “I couldn’t feel anything for a long time. When I was all filled up, I couldn’t hear what people were telling me—especially the good things. I was so worried and mad all of the time that I only heard an angry voice in my head. I couldn’t see anymore, either, because of the water…

I think I couldn’t see the people who were smiling at me. I guess they might have tried to help me? And, I didn’t see how sad you and dad were, too. I thought that I was, sort of, drowning….”

Luke closed his eyes. His mother brushed his hair with her hand. His father put his hand on Luke’s knee, “I hope you can hear this, now, Luke. I love you. Your mom loves you. Your friends love you. Your family loves you. You don’t need to keep any secrets.” His mother added, “If you promise to tell your dad and I how you’re feeling, I don’t think you’ll turn blue again.” “Well,” his dad laughed, “we all get a little blue, now and then! But, you should know that this divorce is hard on all of us. The truth is that, sometimes, we are all going to have to cry. But, we will feel better—little by little. So, let’s promise that when we feel like crying, we will. Okay?” He asked. “Okay,” said Luke.

When his dad left, to go back to his apartment, Luke climbed in bed with his mom, and they cried.

In the morning, Luke got dressed for school. It was a regular day. It was a “Dad Day.” Luke fed his fish.

“What are their names?” Lily asked, as she walked into his room. “Mom, Dad, Lily and Luke,” he smiled. “That’s nice,” whispered Lily. “Yeah,” said Luke. “But, Luke keeps trying to bite Lily’s tail!” He shouted as he chased his sister down the hall. “Help! Mommy!” Lily giggled, pretending to be frightened. “Okay, that’s enough!” mom smiled. “Luke, we’ve got to go, now. Put on your blue jacket and grab your lunchbox.” “No way!” Luke smiled, “No more blue for me!”