A woman named Tara Stilwell has recently touched the hearts of millions of people with this viral story about her son, Wilder Brooks Stilwell. Wilder was 6 years old when he was unfortunately killed.
"Do you guys want to hear a story about how I asked my 6-year-old deceased son for a sign that he could still hear me and how he responded? It's a pretty good story, if you want to hear it," Tara started in her TikTok as she rocked her baby.
"I had just read that book called Signs. It's a pretty common book that people read directly after losing someone they love. In that book, it talks about being very specific in the sign that you ask for. And so I was thinking about what could be a symbol for my son that I felt like resonated with him, and he was only six when he died, so that means it would have to be something that kind of caters to a 6-year-old, and what do most 6-year-old boys love? Legos."
"So I asked him to let me see a Lego in a place where it didn't belong. So not in my house, not in a friend's house that had kids — a Lego in a place where it didn't belong, specifically a red Lego. I went about my day, and I kind of forgot about it," she continued.
"Later that day, I was at my daughter's ballet class. It was one o'clock, and I was in the viewing/waiting room. I was observing this family I had never seen before, and I was kind of watching the little boy because he was wearing a shirt that my son had owned, and I was already thinking about Wilder, and, you know, kind of watching my daughter's class and just keeping to myself. The mom and I struck up conversation, and I found out that they weren't normally there that day. They were doing a makeup class, and it was just by some off chance that we were in the same place at the same time."
"This little boy was kind of just quietly playing cars on the floor, and he got up and he walked over to me. He looked me directly in my eyes, and he put one singular red Lego in my hands."
"And even when I think about it, I get chills, because what are the chances of that? There's no such thing as a coincidence that big, right? And obviously, I immediately started to cry, because how could you not in a moment like that? But I choked it up as fast as I could, and I tried not to let him or his mom see, because how do you even begin to explain that to a stranger? But it was after that moment that I never doubted again that he could hear me, even if it's not in the way that I would prefer," Tara concluded.
BuzzFeed spoke to Tara, who explained that she was gifted the book in the early days of his passing and was desperate for answers, looking to find a way to connect with Wilder. "Like most parents who’ve lost a child, you would give anything to find a way to feel close to them. In the book, it explains that our loved ones can hear us — that they can find ways to connect with us if we ask for specific signs. I sat with this idea, wondering if maybe, somehow, somewhere, my son’s spirit was still connected to me."
Tara decided to ask Wilder for a red Lego as a sign because he was such a high-energy boy, Legos were one of the only quiet and still activities that kept him engaged. "I spent a fortune on them, truthfully, but I loved watching how mindful he would be with building project to completion. I chose red because that was his favorite color."
"When the little boy lifted his hand in the way that signaled to me that he wanted to hand me something, and looked me directly in the eyes, I wasn’t sure what it was going to be. But once the Lego fell into the palm of my hands and his eye contact lingered, it felt like he was silently telling me the answer to the question I had been begging Wilder for: He could hear me. My entire body got warm, and my eyes welled with tears that I did my best to choke down."
"I think Wilder is touching more lives than I ever could have imagined. I’m so beyond grateful and proud," Tara added.
And since the story has impacted so many people, Tara said it is also giving people who are grieving a little piece of hope that they might be able to connect with their loved ones...
In fact, thousands of people who have already had signs are sharing their own experiences with their deceased loved ones in the comments on Tara's TikTok video:
Tara now asks Wilder for signs all the time, and he always follows through. She said, "I’m probably annoying him at this point. I have so many other stories that would make a believer even out of the biggest skeptic. Some of my most meaningful connections with Wilder are his visits in my dreams. They aren’t dreams, it’s us, together again somewhere in between. In the four years since he’s passed, I’d say he’s visited me about 10 times, and I can still remember every single detail of every one of those dreams."
"Child loss goes against what feels to be the laws of nature. It’s a loss that feels to be the hardest to swallow. I know Wilder is watching over me and his siblings. Protecting us from the other side," Tara ended.
