The ragged stuffed animal seal lay on her son’s bed. The room was still a mess as it usually had been; her son had rarely cleaned it and was pretty lazy. But he had done the best that he could do in school and he was accepted to a college to receive his education within another state. As much as his mother had tried to persuade him to go to college in-state, preferably nearby, he had made his own choice. His mother decided to let her son go for one more time. She solemnly picked up some laundry that he had left behind within his bedroom and she moved slowly towards the stuffed animal seal that he had chosen to leave behind. The left eye was scratched up, the fur was a little brown, and some of the whiskers were longer or shorter than the others. But she remembered him; carrying it around wherever he went, holding it tightly when he would sleep, or pretend to talk to it when he was lonely. All these memories flashed before her and tears rolled down her eyes. Oh, how much she loved him! She could not remember anything that made her so happy or sad in her life. She left the stuffed animal seal on the foot of the bed and looked at it with a smile, slowly closing the door and leaving it as it was.

Days went by, then weeks, then months, and before anyone knew it, the end of the first semester was over. She had received numerous calls from her son and he told her how school was, all the new people that he had made friends with during the first four months of college, and how it was hard to stay on top of things. But the thing that made her smile the most was that he was going to come home for a couple days. As she smiled and yelled in happiness, her son asked one question that surprised her but not as much as any other question that he could of have asked.

As he kind of chuckled he asked, “Has Seal kept you company?” The question came very casually but she knew there was some importance hidden behind it. As she replied that he had and told him how much she missed him, memories again flashed of Seal and her son. So innocent… He was so adorable too… As they said they’re good-byes, tears again had crept upon her face. She smiled and wiped them slowly away from her face as she heard a knock on the door. She looked a tad puzzled and walked briskly down the hallway, downstairs, and walked towards the door. After quickly unlocking the door she opened the door to her surprise: he was standing there with a backpack slung over his shoulder. He walked towards her with a smile on his face as he embraced her tightly, his arms wrapped around her shoulders.

“Told you I’d be here soon,” he said. He pulled away to grab his bags and closed the door slowly behind him and walked with his mother on his arm. He smiled and put his bags down and walked around the house.

“Heh, it hasn’t changed much, Ma,” he said as he looked around the home that housed him for four and a half years.

“Couldn’t change it too much. You still have sisters here.”

“Where are they?” he asked.

“School.” He nodded and smiled, looking around as usual as he made his way up the stairs.

“Oh, is it okay if I sleep in my old room?”

“Of course, Honey.”

“Cool thanks.”

As the day went through, the mother and son conversed about college and how things were since he had left. Things weren’t all the same without him and they hadn’t changed much either. They tried to talk about his younger years but the son felt a little uncomfortable about it and they shrugged it off almost immediately as the subject came up. After much conversing, the son was tired from his long trip home so he went upstairs, following his mother as she led him back to his old room. He placed his bags on the floor and smiled at the sight that was before him; his room was almost as he had left it, except it was cleaner.

Soon, the son changed into his night-time clothes and crawled underneath the covers and laid his head on his pillow. As he did this, his mother picked up Seal and handed it to him. The son smiled and held it tightly to him as he closed his eyes and smiled. “Good night, Mom,” he called.

“Good night,” she replied.

She closed the door and smiled. He’s still a kid, and he’s still my baby.