Chapter 1: The Empty Backpack
"Leave those alone, Isaiah. They're for Jordan and Ava.""
Tasha didn't shout.
She didn't have to.
Her voice was cold enough to make the little boy pull his hand away from the books as if he had touched something hot.
Isaiah stared at the colorful notebooks on the coffee table. There were three stacks of them, each decorated with cartoon characters and bright stickers. Beside them sat two brand-new pink backpacks, their shiny zippers catching the afternoon sunlight.
His older sisters, Jordan and Ava, sat proudly on the sofa, admiring their new school supplies.
Isaiah sat at the opposite end.
Beside him was an old camouflage backpack with a broken zipper, faded fabric, and a small tear near the bottom.
He was wearing a yellow polo shirt that had become slightly too small around his shoulders. His little fingers rested on his knees.
"Mommy," he whispered, "can I have one of those blue notebooks?""
Tasha, dressed in an expensive royal-blue suit, didn't even look at him.
"Didn't you hear what I said?""
Isaiah lowered his eyes.
Jordan picked up a pink pencil case and opened it.
"Mom, look! It has glitter inside!""
Ava laughed.
"And mine has all the matching pens!""
Tasha smiled warmly at them.
"Of course, sweetheart. I told you both this year would be special.""
Isaiah watched them.
He tried to smile, but his lips wouldn't cooperate.
A few seconds later, he reached toward a small package of pencils sitting near the edge of the table.
Tasha immediately caught his wrist.
"Isaiah, what is wrong with you?""
He flinched.
"I just wanted to see them.""
"Those aren't yours.""
"But I need pencils for school.""
Tasha released his wrist and pushed the package toward Jordan.
"Jordan and Ava need proper supplies. You already have a backpack. You can use whatever you have left from last year.""
Isaiah glanced at the camouflage bag.
One strap was held together with a knot. The zipper had been broken since the previous school year, and his old notebooks were still inside.
"But Mom...""
"What now?""
"Dad sent money for mine.""
For the first time, Tasha looked directly at him.
Her expression changed.
Only for a moment.
Then she folded her arms.
"Your father sent money to the household. I decide how it's spent.""
Isaiah swallowed.
"He said I could get a new backpack.""
"Well, he isn't here, is he?""
The room became quiet.
Jordan stopped playing with her pencil case.
Ava looked at her mother, then at Isaiah.
Tasha picked up another notebook and placed it in the pink backpack.
"Now stop making everyone uncomfortable.""
Isaiah turned toward the window.
He blinked several times.
But one tear escaped anyway.
He quickly wiped it away with the sleeve of his yellow shirt.
He didn't want his sisters to see him cry.
He didn't want anyone to see him cry.
Just then, the front door opened.
"Hello? Anybody home?""
A deep voice came from the hallway.
Isaiah's head lifted immediately.
"Grandpa!""
An elderly man stepped into the living room.
His name was Walter.
He was bald, with a neatly trimmed gray beard and tired eyes that seemed to notice more than people realized. He wore a gray plaid shirt, dark trousers, and an old pair of brown shoes.
He had been coming to the house every Thursday for years.
But today, something was different.
He noticed the two shiny pink backpacks first.
Then the books.
Then the little boy sitting quietly beside an old camouflage bag.
Walter smiled.
"Well, look at my grandbabies getting ready for school.""
Jordan jumped off the sofa.
"Grandpa! Look what Mom bought us!""
Ava held up her pencil case.
"I got the pink one!""
Walter chuckled.
"Those are beautiful. Your mother certainly went shopping.""
Tasha stood up and adjusted her suit jacket.
"I wanted the girls to have everything they needed.""
Walter nodded.
"That's good. And Isaiah?""
The boy looked up.
Walter approached him.
"What did you get, young man?""
Isaiah glanced at his old backpack.
Before he could answer, Tasha interrupted.
"He has everything he needs.""
Walter looked down at the camouflage bag.
"That bag?""
"It's perfectly usable.""
Walter crouched and picked it up.
The broken zipper slid open by itself.
Inside were two old notebooks, a broken pencil, and a crumpled worksheet from the previous school year.
Walter's smile disappeared.
"Isaiah, is this what you're taking to school?""
The boy nodded slowly.
"Yes, Grandpa.""
Walter examined the torn bottom.
Then he looked at the girls' new belongings.
"Where's the receipt?""
Tasha hesitated.
"Why?""
"I'd like to see what was purchased.""
"It's just shopping, Walter.""
"Then there shouldn't be a problem.""
Tasha reached toward the coffee table and picked up a folded receipt.
Walter took it.
His eyes moved down the paper.
Backpack.
Pencil cases.
Notebooks.
Colored markers.
Water bottles.
Lunch boxes.
He read the total.
Then he read it again.
Five hundred dollars.
Walter slowly raised his head.
"What did you buy for him?""
Tasha crossed her arms.
"What?""
"All five hundred dollars went on these?""
He pointed toward the two pink backpacks.
Tasha's jaw tightened.
"The girls needed more things.""
"And Isaiah?""
"He can use his old things.""
Walter stared at her.
Isaiah sat motionless.
His hands were clasped tightly together, and he was looking at the floor.
Walter folded the receipt.
"Who sent this money?""
Tasha rolled her eyes.
"Your son sent it. And I don't appreciate being interrogated in my own home.""
Walter took out his phone.
"Then let's ask him.""
He found Daniel's number and pressed the call button.
Tasha's face changed.
"Walter, don't.""
But the phone was already ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then a familiar voice came through the speaker.
"Dad? Everything okay?""
Walter placed the phone on the coffee table.
"Daniel, I need to ask you something.""
"Sure. What's going on?""
"Is Isaiah ready for school?""
There was a brief pause.
Daniel sounded confused.
"Ready? I sent Tasha five hundred dollars specifically for his school supplies. Did she get everything?""
Walter looked at the camouflage backpack.
Then at Isaiah.
His voice became quieter.
"His backpack's empty.""
Silence.
On the other end, Daniel stopped speaking.
Walter placed the phone flat on the table.
Then he turned toward Tasha.
"Tasha, explain where my son's money went.""
Her eyes widened.
The receipt trembled between her fingers.
"Dad?"" Daniel's voice suddenly became louder through the speaker.
"What did you just say?""
Tasha opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Isaiah looked from his grandfather to the phone.
For the first time that afternoon, he felt someone might actually listen.
Then Daniel spoke again.
"Tasha, I'm going to ask you one question. And I want you to answer honestly.""
The entire room froze.
"Why does my son still have the same broken backpack I saw him carrying last year?""
Tasha's face went pale.
And Walter noticed something else.
The receipt wasn't the only thing lying on that coffee table.
Beneath the shopping bags was a small envelope with Daniel's name written across it.
An envelope Tasha clearly hadn't expected anyone to see.
Walter slowly reached for it.
"Tasha...""
She stepped forward.
"Don't touch that.""
Walter stopped.
Daniel heard her.
"What envelope, Dad?""
Walter turned it over.
There was a handwritten note on the back.
May you like
And the name at the bottom wasn't Tasha's.
It was Isaiah's.
