My Dream Family Drawing Novels & Stories

He marveled at her drawing skill but then to think of it, he did not really understand the illustration of her art. It's a drawing of six people with the caption “Family forever”. "What's this beautiful art all about? Uncle Damon is finding it hard to fathom its meaning, can you help with that?" Damon asked. "That's us, uncle." She dropped plainly. "Us...?" They all chorused simultaneously as the three boys rushed to feed their eyes. "How is this us...?" "Yeah. Mom, uncle Damon and the quadruplet too. Uncle Damon is now part of the family as our new dad." She explained, pointing at the older male in the drawing.

“Mommy! Daddy!” We turned. He stood there in his little pajamas, holding a half-drawn sketchbook. His innocent grin warmed our hearts. Damon crouched down and lifted Kael into his arms. “What are you drawing, champ?” Kael giggled. “A family. Look!” He showed us the paper—three stick figures holding hands, with a small one in the middle that looked like a baby. “That’s Mommy, that’s you, and that’s me. And that’s the baby!”

And my son, only days old, already knew what it was to sleep in a safe room. But I refused to let fear define us. One morning, while I was feeding him near the window, Janna walked in, clutching a drawing. “Look, Mommy,” she said brightly. “It’s our family.” I looked down at the messy crayon lines. Four figures stood in front of a house. Me, Jace, Janna, and the baby. But in the background, she had drawn shadows—men with red eyes and masks. “What are those, sweetheart?” I asked gently.

They followed me inside, tossing their shoes carelessly by the door, their voices filling every corner of our home. Brian rushed to the table where his school bag sat and pulled out a piece of paper. “Mom, look!” He scribbled a quick drawing, a stick figure family, with me, him, Arya, and a taller figure with broad shoulders. Above it, he wrote in his uneven scrawl: Daddy is home. I felt my heart split right down the middle. Arya joined in, taking a crayon and adding two more figures: Grandma and Grandpa, with hearts floating above their heads. She grinned up at me. “See? We’re all together.”

My heart pounded, and my hands wouldn't stop shaking. My mom's eyes sparkled as she watched him, her grin wide, like a cat that got the cream. "Sweetie, this boy's quite the catch. He'd make the perfect son-in-law! How about we make him marry you in return? He stays and gives us a few kids. With his genes, we might finally upgrade the mediocre looks in our family!" My heart skipped a beat. I couldn't lie—there was something tempting about the idea. "Uh, maybe we should focus on saving him first, Mom?"

But what he was sure of was the present and he was going to make sure every second counts. “Yay! A family trip with Mommy and Daddy! Finally!” Ella said and got down from her seat, running somewhere quickly before returning with a piece of paper. She showed it to her parents and said, “Look, I already drew us on a family trip.” Ryan took the paper and saw that Ella had drawn two tall figures, two short ones and one that looked like a round cat with a small head. “Wow, nice, Ella. Is this a cat? Do you want a cat?” Ryan asked, pointing at the round image.

“I love you too. And I love her.” We both looked over at the photo frame sitting on her nightstand. It was one Mila had drawn just a week ago. Stick figures. One tall man, one lady with long hair, and one tiny girl with big pigtails. They were holding hands, standing under a giant rainbow. Above it, in Mila’s messy handwriting, were the words: My family. I reached over and picked it up, holding it in my hand. “This,” I said, “is everything to me.”

Tessa took his hand and pulled him down the hall. As he entered the room, he looked at Jennah and Dom and couldn’t help think that this scene started because of a dream. A note from Jacqueline Paige: I hope you enjoyed reading Dreams as much as I enjoyed writing it! My website is jacquelinepaige (dot) com; I love feedback.

We'll figure out payment later. I text back: Thank you. Don't thank me. Just win. Both of you. I look around Ivy's room. The drawings on the walls. The toys. The bookshelf overflowing with stories about princesses and dragons. And then I see it. Taped to the wall above her bed. The drawing she made. The family drawing with three stick figures. But it's different now. She's added to it. There's a house around the figures now. A sun. A dog that doesn't exist. Flowers. Everything a seven-year-old thinks makes a family complete.

“To Mama, who fixes floods and makes the best trees!” I laughed until my ribs hurt. Later, when the apartment was quiet, I pulled out my sketchbook. I didn’t draw dresses. I drew the three of us on the balcony. Me, James, Lily in the middle. Stick figures, really. But I labeled it Family. After the flood. James came up behind me and kissed the top of my head. “What’s that?” “Proof,” I said. “Bad things happen. And we fix them. And we’re still here.”