When the Paulsons lost their son in a tragic car accident, they were beside themselves with grief. Visiting his grave every week, they were horrified by something very strange. So, they placed a camera on his grave. What they discovered was simply shocking.
Losing their son was the hardest thing the Paulsons had ever faced. Every brisk Monday morning that autumn, they made it a priority to visit their 18-year-old son’s grave. The young man was meant to be at the threshold of his adult life, not being buried. Seeing his grave helped them to come to terms with it all. But one day, they happened to notice something very strange. Next to their old flowers from the week before lay a single fresh rose.
In the beginning, they hadn’t paid attention to the flowers because his grave was inundated with tributes from school friends and other people who loved him. But now that quite a bit of time had passed, it was just as the parents’ flowers that were laid there. Those and now the mysterious single rose.
The first time they noticed the single rose, they weren’t too concerned. They just presumed someone had come to visit. But when it started to become a weekly occurrence, they couldn’t help but wonder. Mrs. Paulson ever approached the groundkeeper and inquired whether he knew who the mysterious visitor was. But he looked stunned in response.
According to him, they were the only visitors that frequented Taylor’s grave. This only made the couple more anxious. Mrs. Paulson, in particular, had a very strong feeling about the symbolism of the single flower. She was convinced that they needed to find out the story behind it. Maybe it could even enlighten them on what had happened to their son that fateful night.
It was an ordinary Tuesday night. The Paulsons had dinner together as always, and then Taylor went up to his room to finish studying for the SATs. He was applying to colleges and getting ready to leave the nest. His parents were extremely proud of his dedication and commitment to his school life. They knew he was going to go far; he had the right attitude for it. That is, of course, until the next morning came.
The Paulsons were dead asleep when their phone rang shrilly through the dark hours of the early morning. Stunned, Mr. Paulson answered. The grim nature of his voice told Mrs. Paulson right away that something wasn’t right. Before he had even put the phone down, she was out of bed, calling for her son, but she got no response. When she turned around to face her husband, she instantly knew something terrible had happened.
Her husband jumped out of bed with an anxiety-ridden expression. He told her that it was the police and that there had been an accident. The car was registered under his name, the driver being their son, Taylor Paulson. Before Mr. Paulson could finish explaining, Mrs. Paulson was running down the corridor to see her son, bursting in the door of his bedroom. She was astonished to see his bed empty and his window open. He wasn’t safe at home; he had left and had an accident.
The couple raced to the scene of the accident and were horrified to have the confirmation that it was indeed their son who had been driving. He had slid on some ice and landed head-on in a tree. He hadn’t been wearing a seat belt, so he had gone right through the windscreen. Mrs. Paulson couldn’t bear to look. She collapsed on the grass right there and then, bawled her eyes out, her body aching for her lost son.
Mr. Paulson was irate. Why had his son been on the road during such horrible weather conditions? Why hadn’t he told them? As parents, they felt sick to their stomachs that he had snuck out that night, that he wasn’t safe where they thought he had been. Now they had to face a reality that no parent ever should.
The accident itself was not a mystery. The logistics and physics explained it all. However, there was a mystery revolving around the fact that he was out on the road at that time. The question was why.
The Paulsons had taken their time asking his group of friends repeatedly to see if they knew anything. But no one seemed to know anything. They were just as clueless as his parents. Now, with the mysterious rose appearing on the grave every week, the Paulsons couldn’t help but feel that it was connected.
So, they did something creative. They went to the local tech shop and got a pinhole camera. Then, Mr. Paulson attached it to the grave under some flowers he fixed to the tombstone. They wanted a good view of who was coming every week.
The waiting was excruciating. They knew that after setting up the camera, they would need to carry on with their usual routine. This was far more difficult than it sounded. With every passing minute, they grew more anxious to know who it was. Eventually, the deadline they had set did pass, and it was time to go and visit the grave.
Once there, they grabbed the camera and took it home to see what the footage had to reveal about the mysterious visitor. What they discovered was extremely puzzling. In plain view of the grave, they saw a beautiful young girl place a single rose on his grave. When she stood up, they saw that she was pregnant.
Horrified and confused, they watched the footage over and over again. They had never seen this girl before and wondered how she had known their son. They took the footage to Taylor’s best friend and asked them if he knew who the girl was. By the look on his face, they knew right away that they were on the right track. Sure enough, he knew her. He said sheepishly that Taylor had been hanging around with her without many people knowing.
Mrs. Paulson was astonished to hear this. She thought she knew her son well. How had she not noticed this? The friend gave them the girl’s address. They went straight to her house and knocked on her door.
The girl from the video, Violet, answered the door. Mrs. Paulson looked her up and down; she had to be at least six months pregnant. The minute Violet saw who was at the door, she tried to close it, but they managed to wedge the door open. They pleaded for just a moment to talk to her. Violet sheepishly opened the door and invited them in.
They sat in the living room awkwardly staring at one another until Mrs. Paulson worked up the courage to speak. She told Violet about the video they had from the cemetery. She explained that she knew Violet had been seeing her son. At hearing this, Violet burst into a puddle of tears. She was inconsolable, sobbing hysterically in front of the couple, until Mr. Paulson got up and began to comfort her.
She managed to take a few deep breaths and then found her voice. What she said next simply shook them to their core. Violet confirmed that she and Taylor had, in fact, been seeing each other. She looked down at her swollen belly and gently rubbed it. She was pregnant with his baby.
At hearing this, Mrs. Paulson broke down. Now she was the one wailing; her son had a baby on the way. How had she not known this? Why hadn’t he told her? But the shock didn’t end there. Mr. Paulson asked Violet why she had stayed away after Taylor had died. He was happy to accept her into his family, but he couldn’t fathom why she would have felt the need to stay away.
At this, she burst into tears once more. She insisted that they didn’t need to know, that they would hate her if they did. But after a bit of coaxing, they eventually got her to spill. What they heard made their hearts break for the girl. She explained that she had been having a rough night the night Taylor died, and she desperately needed Taylor. So, she had called him to come over. The only problem was he needed to go home in the early hours of the next morning because he was sleep-deprived.
Driving home, he had crashed into the tree and died. Violet blamed herself for her boyfriend’s death and had been hiding from his family because of it. Looking at the mother of their grandchild, the Paulsons felt empathetic for the sweet girl. It was not her fault, and she shouldn’t feel that it was. They made this very clear to her.
Relieved but still deeply ashamed, Violet explained to them why they had kept their relationship and her pregnancy hidden from both their families. They had not expected to get pregnant at 18, and they were afraid that some of their families would judge them or tell them to put the child up for adoption. They had decided to keep it on the down-low for as long as they could.
The Paulsons took a great sigh of relief. Considering that now, for the first time, they had a sense of closure. They wrapped Violet in a big hug and reassured her that they would be there if she needed anything. They were so grateful to her for carrying their grandchild, a child that would forever connect them to their late son.
Luckily, they had set up the camera and found Violet when they did. Now they could start a new adventure with their soon-to-be grandchild and live in loving memory of their sweet son.
What an incredible story! Do you think Taylor was right to sneak behind his parents’ back? Would you ever consider setting up a camera to find out answers like this? Do you think it’s ethical? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Thank you for watching until next time!
