What If...? story

as1985e2x11 · 1986-12-08

Little Jonah Kelley starts seeing things randomly disappearing to the point where the house becomes sterile, and worries why his status-seeking parents Pamela and Raymond are more concerned with their social lives than they are with his problems. An explanation for this phenomenon is only revealed when he meets an expectant mother at a toy store. Directed by: Joan Darling. Story by: Anne Spielberg.

10 total · 2 choice · 3 major · 5 minor

Theme	Level	Motivation
child's need to be loved	choice	Jonah's parents were too preoccupied with their social lives to provide him with the love and attention he needed.
neglectful parent	choice	Jonah's parents were too preoccupied with their social lives to provide him with the love and attention he needed.
father and son	major	Raymond cared more about socializing with his peers than spending time with his son, Jonah.
human childhood	major	The story follows the adolescent boy Jonah. In particular, he struggled to catch his parents' attention.
mother and son	major	Pamela cared more about socializing with her peers than spending time with his son, Jonah.
childhood imaginary friend	minor	Although the explanation turned out to be otherwise, it seemed for a while that the mustachioed man that popped in and out of existence was a figment of Jonah's imagination.
coping with a bad hangover	minor	Pamela complained about her head hurting the day after she had gone a bit too hard on the champagne.
fear of abandonment	minor	Jonah sought reassurances from his aloof parents that they wouldn't leave him, but his pleas largely fell on disinterested ears.
husband and wife	minor	Pamela and Raymond Kelly seemed more interested in their social lives than in caring for their young son, Jonah.
what if my life were different	minor	Jonah posited a number of different counterfactuals regarding his own future but came back to one in particular: what if his parents never came back from their night out?