A scared boy tells his mother that someone is in his room at night. She doesn’t believe him until she sets up a surveillance camera and makes a surprising discovery.

Christopher Corbin pulled the blankets over his head and covered his ears. He thought that if he couldn’t see or hear the monster, it wouldn’t be able to get him—or at least he hoped so.

In recent days, the monster had become more daring, and Christopher was sure he would soon feel those awful claws pulling him out of bed into the monster’s hideout. Then he’d be gone forever, and his mother wouldn’t be able to find him…

Lacey Corbin looked at her seven-year-old son with concern. Usually lively and chatty, he was very quiet and fidgeting with his breakfast cereals.

“Chris, sweetheart,” she said. “What’s wrong?”

Sometimes what appears impossible is actually true.

“Nothing…” Chris responded, but the way he looked away told Lacey he wasn’t being honest.

“Come on, honey,” Lacey said softly, sitting beside him and wrapping her arm around him. “I can see you’re upset. Please tell me what’s bothering you.”

Chris looked up with sad eyes. “You won’t believe me,” he whispered.

Yes, I will, I promise,” Lacey said earnestly. “I swear to you.”

“There’s a monster in my room,” Chris whispered close to her ear. “He lives in my closet, walks around at night, and comes into the kitchen to eat. But I think soon he will eat ME.”

Lacey’s first instinct was to laugh, but she noticed the dark shadows under her son’s frightened eyes. Maybe it was just a child’s imagination, but for Chris, it felt real. “Alright, honey,” she said. “I’ll put a night light in your room to scare the monster away.”

Chris brightened. “Do you think that will work?” he asked.

“Yes, definitely,” Lacey replied. “Closet monsters disappear in the light. You’ll see.”

But the next morning, Chris was just as scared. “Mom, I almost saw him!” he cried. “I saw his shadow through the sheets because of the night light. He didn’t go away, Mom!”

Listen, Chris,” Lacey said. “I’ll catch your monster. Remember the nanny cam I bought when you were little?”

The one that looks like a teddy bear?” asked Chris.

Yes,” Lacey said. “I’m going to put it in your room tonight. If anything moves, it will record it. We’ll catch the monster.”

Lacey didn’t expect to find anything. She just wanted to reassure her son. The next morning, she watched the footage with Chris.

She froze in surprise. On the black-and-white video, the closet door swung open, and a small figure moved out. There really was something hiding in Chris’s closet!

Lacey quickly ran upstairs. She opened the closet door, moved aside the toy boxes, and found a small boy curled up inside.

He started crying when he saw her, and she gently pulled him out. “Hello,” she said. “I’m Lacey. Who are you?”

“I’m Victor,” the boy replied softly.

“Hi Victor,” Lacey said. “Why don’t you come down and have breakfast with us? Chris thought you were the closet monster!”

Chris was stunned to see her bring a little boy downstairs. But he felt relieved knowing Victor was not a monster and didn’t want to hurt him.

Victor explained he had come to Chris’s birthday party two weeks earlier with a friend and liked the family so much he decided to stay. “But what about your mom?” Lacey asked. “Won’t she be worried?”

Victor shook his head. “No,” he answered. “My mom died. My dad married Marga, and she doesn’t like me. Please don’t make me go home.”

Lacey knew she had to take Victor back. She immediately saw the truth in his words when she noticed his stepmother dragging him inside roughly.

Stupid boy!” she yelled. “No dinner for you!” The woman gave Lacey a charming smile and claimed they thought Victor was with a friend. But Lacey saw her nails digging into Victor’s shoulder.

She went straight to the police. An hour later, she came back with officers and a social worker. They found Victor’s parents mistreating him.

As a result, Victor was allowed to stay with Lacey while his parents were jailed. Soon after, Lacey applied to adopt him. Victor became Chris’s best friend and almost like a brother.

What lessons can we learn from this story?

Sometimes what seems impossible is actually real. Lacey thought her son was imagining things, but there really was a “monster” in the closet!

Every child deserves unconditional love. Lacey gave Victor the same care she gave Chris—love he didn’t get from his family.