When Mom Became a Paper Airplane

Maisie loved folding paper airplanes more than anything. Every day after school, she’d come home and use colorful paper to craft all sorts of planes, zooming them around the living room.

That afternoon, Mom had just pulled a steaming apple pie from the oven. The golden crust was still bubbling with heat! Maisie had just finished folding a bright red paper airplane. With a big toss—thwack!—it landed smack in the middle of the pie.

Mom frowned and said, “Maisie! How many times have I told you not to fly paper planes in the house?”

Maisie pouted and trudged back to her room. Hugging her pillow, she thought, If only Mom turned into a piece of paper, I’d fold her into a plane and send her flying far away. Then no one would scold me…

The next morning, Maisie rubbed her eyes and woke up to find a white sheet of paper on her nightstand. In big letters, it said “Mom.”

“Wow! Mom really turned into paper!” Maisie jumped up excitedly, quickly folding the paper into a pointy airplane. She ran outside and threw it hard—whoosh!—the plane caught the wind, twirling and spinning until it vanished into the clouds.

“Awesome! Now I can eat all the candy I want!” Maisie cheered. She gobbled up box after box of candy, bounced barefoot on the couch, and dumped all her building blocks from the toy chest onto the floor. No one was there to stop her.

But by afternoon, her throat felt sticky and sore from all the sugar. She craved Mom’s special honey-lemon water.

At dusk, she accidentally kicked a block on the floor, and her toe throbbed with pain. Normally, Mom would gently rub it better.

By night, Maisie’s stomach growled loudly. Usually, Mom would be in the kitchen, serving up a hot dinner. But now, with Mom turned into a paper plane and gone, no one was there to cook.

Maisie opened the fridge—full of ingredients, but she had no idea how to cook. She tossed noodles into a pot, not knowing to add water, and they stuck to the bottom and burned. She tried frying an egg like Mom did, but the hot oil splattered, and she hid in the corner, scared.

In the end, she crawled into bed with an empty, grumbling stomach.

The room was so dark. Outside, the wind shook the tree branches, casting shadows on the wall that looked like monster claws scratching around. Maisie didn’t dare look. She dove under the covers and squeezed her eyes shut. But the moment she did, scary thoughts flooded her mind—Is there a monster in the closet? Are there rats under the bed?

“Wah… Mom…” she whimpered, tears soaking a small patch of her pillow. Just then, a warm hand gently stroked her hair, so soft and familiar.

“Maisie, why are you crying?” Mom’s kind voice whispered in her ear.

Maisie’s eyes flew open. There was Mom, sitting on the edge of her bed! She leapt into her arms.

“Mom! Didn’t you turn into a paper plane and fly away?” Maisie asked, sniffling.

Mom smiled softly and pinched Maisie’s cheek. “Silly goose, it was just a dream! How could I ever leave you?”

Maisie froze, blinked, and felt the warmth on her face. Slowly, it sank in—she’d only been napping and had a long, wild dream. She hugged Mom tightly, realizing at last that Mom was the person who loved her most in the whole world.