Four years after Maggie’s husband went missing on a solo hike, she had resigned herself to the fact that he was gone. But one day their old family dog returned with her husband’s jacket in his mouth. Maggie followed the dog into the woods and discovered something she in no way expected.
I still remember the day Jason left. He had been feeling very depressed for months, but that day he looked excited and full of energy for the first time in a long time.
He told me he needed to be alone in nature. ‘Just me and Scout,’ he said, petting the dog while our kids laughed.
I asked if he wanted someone to go with him. I was holding our baby Benny in my arms and our four-year-old Emily was hugging my leg.
Jason smiled and said: ‘No, I’ll be back soon. I promise.’
But he never came back.
At first I thought he was probably lost or injured. Search parties went out to look for him. Our friends and neighbours helped too, calling his name in the mountains. It all seemed unreal, like a nightmare.
But as time went on, the search parties began to look at me with sympathy, as if they had already lost hope.
Eventually the searchers told me, ‘We did the best we could.’
People started saying things like, ‘You’re strong, Maggie,’ and ‘You’re going to be okay.’ But their words were empty. Jason wasn’t just lost – he was gone. A few months later, he was declared legally dead. I hated to hear that, but there was nothing I could do. Life had to go on as it was.
Little things in the house still reminded me of Jason – his old hiking boots by the door, the chipped coffee mug, the woollen scarf he loved. The kids would sometimes ask about him, and I would tell them stories to help them remember.
At night, when everything was quiet, I thought about him. I wondered if I could have done anything differently that day – maybe persuaded him not to go.
One afternoon everything changed.
It was a quiet Saturday, sunny, with a light breeze blowing. I was lying on a blanket in the backyard watching the children play. For once, I felt peaceful.
Suddenly, I heard something in the bushes. I thought it was a squirrel or maybe the neighbour’s cat. But then I saw a dog – skinny, dirty and walking slowly towards me.
At first I didn’t realise who it was. But when I looked closer, my heart beat faster. ‘Scout?’ whispered I. It was him – older, skinnier, with dirty hair, but definitely Scout.
‘Scout!’ I said louder, sitting up in shock. He looked at me with tired eyes. In his mouth was a green jacket – worn and faded.
I recognised the jacket immediately. I had washed it so many times and had seen Jason wear it on many hikes. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My whole body froze – I felt shock and hope at the same time.
‘Scout, where did you come from?’ I asked quietly, scooting closer. But before I could touch him, Scout turned and started walking away, heading towards the trees.
‘No-Scout, wait!’ shouted I, but he didn’t stop. Something inside me told me to follow him, even though I didn’t know where he was going.
‘Kids, stay right here! Don’t move!’ I said, grabbing my phone and car keys with shaky hands. ‘Mum will be back soon, I promise.’
Emily looked worried. ‘Where are you going, Mum?’
‘I…I just need to check on something, honey,’ I said, trying to sound calm. She nodded, watching me carefully as I ran after Scout.
Scout moved steadily, leading me through the outskirts of our neighbourhood and into the woods. I struggled to keep up with him, scrambling under branches and slipping on wet leaves. My heart was pounding with fear, hope, and confusion.
‘Scout, slow down!’ I called out to him, but he kept up and led me deeper and deeper into the woods.
Every now and then he would stop and look back to make sure I was still there. His eyes seemed to say, ‘Keep going.’
I had no idea how long I’d been walking. My legs ached, and each step was harder and harder. The forest seemed endless, looping around me as if it didn’t want me to find my way. But Scout kept looking back at me, as if he needed me to keep going as much as I needed answers.
And then, as the daylight began to fade, I saw him.
There was a small cabin deep in the woods. It was so well hidden that it could be overlooked if you didn’t know where to look. Outside, a light smoke was rising from a fire, and clothes were hanging between two trees. Footprints could be seen in the dirt. Someone had definitely been here.
‘Jason?’ I whispered, struggling to get the words out. My heart was racing. My mouth was dry. It all seemed unreal.
I walked slowly to the window, holding my breath. And there, inside the cabin, moving as if nothing had happened, stood Jason.
He looked different. His hair was long and messy, his beard thick. He looked like a man who had lived in the woods for a long time. But he wasn’t alone.
There was a woman with him. She stood close, her hand touching his arm. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes looked old and tattered. She looked like she belonged there – they belonged together.
I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand. My mind was racing, trying to comprehend what I was seeing. No. This couldn’t be real. But as I stood there, looking out the dirty window, I realised it was.
I pushed the door open. It creaked loudly. They both turned and looked at me in surprise. Jason’s eyes widened. His mouth dropped open slightly and he stared at me like I was a ghost.
‘Maggie…’ – he said quietly. His voice was calm – too calm, like he’d been waiting for this moment.
‘Jason,’ I said, my voice shaking, but I kept looking at him. I looked at the woman, then back at him. ‘What is it? Where have you been?’ My heart felt like it was breaking again.
He looked at the woman next to him, who was just staring at me like I didn’t belong there. ‘I was…trapped, Maggie. This life wasn’t for me. Here, I’m free. I can breathe. I found something real, something I couldn’t have…there,’ he said, waving his hand towards the woods as if his new life was there.
I stared at him, barely understanding what he was saying. ‘You left us,’ I said, and my voice cracked. ‘You abandoned your children, Jason. They think you’re dead. I thought you were dead.’
He lowered his gaze and rubbed the back of his neck. ‘I know it’s hard to hear. But I became one with nature. Sarah and I…we built a simple, meaningful life.’ His voice sounded robotic, as if he’d told himself this story so many times he believed it himself.
I took a step back, feeling the anger rising in me. ‘That’s it? You’re just walking away from everything? From your family? You didn’t even try to let us know you were okay?’
He closed his eyes, sighing as if I was the one hurting him. ‘Maggie, you wouldn’t understand. That life was like a prison. Now I’m living the life I want to live.’
‘Prison?’ I whispered, barely able to speak. ‘Is that what we were to you?’
‘Maybe if you weren’t so obsessed with your stupid technology, you could worship nature like we do,’ Sarah snarled, looking at me like I was crazy.
Jason started to speak, but I raised my hand to stop him. I didn’t want to hear his excuses or how ‘free’ he felt right now. I just wanted to scream and cry and tell him how much he had broken our lives.
Looking at his cold, detached face, I knew it didn’t matter. He had made his choice a long time ago.
Without another word, I walked out of the cabin. I didn’t look back. I didn’t need to. The Jason I loved was gone. Maybe he was gone long before the day he disappeared, and I was just the last person to see it.
The way back seemed long and arduous. Each step reminded me that I was leaving behind a part of my life that I could never get back. I barely noticed the trees, the growing darkness, and the pain in my legs. My mind was numb and my heart was empty.
The next morning, I wasted no time. I went straight to the lawyer’s office, barely able to speak but knowing what I had to do.
‘I want a divorce,’ I said, my voice sounding stronger than I felt. ‘And I need support. If he has anything, my kids deserve it.’
The lawyer nodded, looking at me sympathetically. ‘We’ll take care of you and your children, Maggie.’
As I walked away, I felt a strange calmness. I’d spent years waiting, grieving, and hoping Jason would return. But now I realised he wouldn’t, and if he did, it wouldn’t be the man I had once loved.
Now it was my turn to choose. I needed to create a life of love, stability, and honesty for my children. Jason had chosen his path, and I had chosen mine. And I wasn’t going to look back.
