Novel & Cerita My Dream Family Drawing

I stared at it for a minute and my eyes began to water. "He said this is from Micah. Said he drew it at Liam’s place the last time before you came and pulled him away." I unfolded the drawing slowly. It was a crayon sketch: A stick-figure of me with long hair, one of Liam in a suit, and Micah in between us holding our hands. Above it was a crude sun and a heart with the words: "Me, Mommy, and Daddy." Tears burned in my eyes. So even my own son wanted this same thing that I was busy running away from. My son had always pictured us as the perfect family even after she met him just a few days ago. How was that even possible? They didnt speak for long if i could guess

It was theirs. After breakfast, the family scattered into their weekend rhythms. Elena disappeared into town with a couple of trusted friends for a writing workshop. Leo dragged Dmitri to the backyard for “advanced rocket testing” involving baking soda and vinegar. Mae climbed into Anya’s lap on the garden bench with her newest sketchbook. “Mama,” Mae said seriously, flipping through pages, “I drew our family as a rainbow dragon. See? Seven heads, but one heart. Do you like it?” Anya traced the vibrant lines with her finger, throat tightening. “It’s perfect. You capture us better than any photograph ever could.”

Max was more stubborn, but even he was starting to open up. "Coming!" I called back. When I got downstairs, Tommy was already showing Dr. Emma his latest drawing. It was our family - stick figures holding hands in front of a big house. Everyone was smiling, including a tiny figure in my belly. "This is beautiful, Tommy," Dr. Emma said. "Can you tell me about it?" "That's me and Max and Daddy and Annabel and the baby and grandma," Tommy pointed to each figure. "And that's Mommy Sophia watching from heaven."

Daniel stared at it, something sinking in his stomach. The drawing showed a stick figure with long hair and a big smile. Below it, in careful, childish letters: "MAMA." No other figures. Just Alina. "When I asked who this was, Junior immediately said 'Mama Alina.' Then I asked, 'Who else is in your family?' And he said, 'Just Mama.'" Daniel stared at the drawing, unable to speak. "I probed deeper. Asked about Papa, about grandmother, about Mama Rissa who I heard recently returned. And Junior drew this."

As expected, it was a video featuring Julia's husband, son, and younger sister. Toward the end, the camera flashed past a crayon drawing that was hung up on the living room wall. There were streaks of glue lining the artwork, traces of where the drawing had been put together again. The drawing depicted a blue sky dotted with white clouds, while a family of three—two adults and one child—stood hand-in-hand on the grass. Two weeks ago, Julia was thrilled when she saw Coby making this drawing. She asked him, "Are you drawing you, Daddy, and me?"

I said while looking at their drawings. "Zoey drew it and I filled the colors in it," Zachery said in excitement. They had drawn a bear family from their bedtime story and it is drawn so nicely and with proper coloring. "Mum, this is our bear family. See daddy bear, mum bear, Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and Zoey and Zachary little bear" she said while pointing out each bear in her baby voice causing us all to smile.

The words stayed behind my teeth, heavy and unmoving. Later, when the house had finally settled into quiet, and the children had drifted into sleep one by one, I remained on the floor alone, surrounded by scattered toys and the fading glow of the candle. The flame had weakened into something fragile, bending with every faint movement of air, as if even light itself was growing tired. I picked up one of Noah’s drawings from the table. Four stick figures stood in uneven crayon lines—myself, the children, and a taller figure drawn with careful attention to shape and proportion. Above them, in bold uneven letters, he had written: My family.

“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. “That bad things happen. And we fix them. And we’re still here.”

Next to them stood a boy with dark hair. All three figures were holding hands. Beneath the drawing, written in shaky handwriting, were six words: My family is waiting for me. Aisha felt tears gather before she could stop them. Not because the drawing was extraordinary. Because it wasn't. Thousands of children had probably created similar pictures over the years. But most of those children had drawn families they actually possessed. This one had drawn a family he hoped existed somewhere. A family he needed so desperately that his mind eventually built them from scratch.

A man in a black suit on the right. I walk to the small drawing desk in the corner. Slowly open the drawer. Inside, a sketchbook. I take it out. Flip through page after page. Every sheet is filled with the same drawing. Three people. A house. The sun. Sometimes they're playing in a park. Sometimes standing in front of a birthday cake. Sometimes just holding hands under a blue sky. A family. A family that never existed. One that only ever lived in the head of a little girl who kept waiting, kept hoping, kept drawing something I never gave her.