"I caught my mom and dad..."

"I caught my mom and dad cheating on each other on different occasions when I younger and they don't know about it."

Deus7007

This is emotionally devastating and can really affect a child's ability to trust other authority figures.

"I remember going across town..."

"My father cheated on my mother and they had a kid. I remember going across town to meet her and when we came back he kept repeating, 'And remember you can't tell your mother about this.' And I never said anything.

"Until now. So somewhere out there is a half-sister that I've never met and I probably will never meet because she would be around 2000 miles south. So yeah that's that."

xxKUKULKANXx

Assuming you're interested, is there no way of reaching out? What about a genetic test? You'd be surprised how far people get using 23AndMe or Ancestry!

"My Mom got pregnant with me to trap my Dad. He was much older than her. When I was in my teens, he got cancer. She took care of him for a while but over time she got very callous."

"I went home from college one time and he was watching static on his TV, by himself in his room. I asked him why and he said he didn't want to bother her."

"We went out of state because she just had to go to this convention that happens every year. It was hard to be away from my girlfriend, Maria (who eventually became my wife - we were obviously and very much in love), but I went with my parents."

"Dad had a new tumor develop on the convention trip, and I said we should go home to get him to the doctor. Mom refused. By this time we kind of had an idea of where things were headed with his health and it wasn't good."

"When she got out of the car at a store I told him I should just drive him home and get him to the doctor. He said if I did that we'd never see her again, and I can't do that."

"I told him, 'When this is all over, I'm never going to speak to her again.'

"I've never seen him desperate before. He had tears in his eyes and he said, 'You can't. You can't do that. She's my Maria and I love her and you can't leave her all alone. Promise me.'"

"So I swore to him that I would keep in contact. I call her once every month or every couple of months and talk to her. I visit her every other year (in non-pandemic times). I play the role, but I'm not talking to my mother. I'm talking to his Maria. If I do this right, she will never know. Because I promised him."

Deradius

You are much stronger than you give yourself credit for. This is a lot to still carry.

"When I was younger..."

"When I was younger I used to have nightmares for several years that I was getting tickled aggressively by a demon in the dark. Honestly, not planning on telling anyone in case they think I was bewitched or something."

depressedbis05

I don't think anyone would judge you. People have wild dreams and nightmares all the time.

"I told everyone..."

"My 3 1/2 year old son put my 18 year old cat in the washer and closed the door... I found her the next morning. I told everyone she died peacefully in her sleep... she didn't and it kills me every day."

ChevvyDrea

People Share Dark Secrets From Their Profession The Public Doesn't Know | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

Sometimes secrets are an integral part in making magic. Though many professions withhold truth from the public, some things we'd prefer to know. Do we really...

This is devastating. Young children really do not yet understand the consequences of their actions, which must pain you every day. Our condolences.

"Sometimes..."

"Sometimes I have a super offensive internal monologue. It's not what I'm actually thinking or saying, the things that the voice says are awful."

throwaway184

Have you considered therapy? That said, many of us think things that we would never say out loud or act upon. You are not alone there.

"When I was younger..."

"When I was younger my grandmother gave me a thousand dollars after coming over to her house and doing some chores for her. My parents never knew about it because they told me I would be paid in food and a bed to sleep in. After coming home I hid the money under my mattress, until they went to work the next day."

"I put the money in a medicine bottle and buried it in the backyard, which is still there to this day. Been taking that dirt nap for about 15 years now (I'm 30 now)."

"After a while I kinda just forgot about it, until I watched a YouTube video about time capsules, which somehow reminded of that old money I buried. Should a rainy day ever come, I'll be sure to dig it up."

ideadi

Hopefully you sealed that bottle nice and tight!

"The police called..."

"I'm not sure if any of you remember The Railroad Killer. Around the time before his capture, he had reportedly come through our area. I was in my early 20s."

"A few friends and I were hiking in some woods that were bordered by train tracks. We had been discussing the serial killer during our hike. One of my friends picked up a rock by the tracks that had some red color on it."

"I jokingly asked, 'Oh no, is that blood?' Another friend joked, 'Maybe it's from the Railroad Killer!' We all chuckled about the stupid joke and carried on our hike."

"That night, one of the friends was in his apartment. He had been drinking. Then he heard someone trying to break in through his front door, which was locked."

"He yelled several times for the person to identify themselves. Being under the influence and frightened, he got his pistol and shot the person through the door. It killed them instantly."

"Later, my friend told the police that he was remembering our previous conversation about the serial killer. Being drunk, he thought that's who was trying to break into his apartment. Turns out it was just another resident of the building. He had also been drinking and mistakenly thought he was unlocking the door to HIS own apartment."

"The police called me at work the next day to question me. They were trying to justify my friend's mindset at the time of the shooting. I've never told anyone else because I feel responsible for that person's untimely death."

thefrozenfew

Please do not blame yourself so harshly. You could not have known. This is a tragedy in every way.

It is astonishing the secrets that people can carry, sometimes for years on end.

You never know people's stories, so be kind.

Have stories of your own to share? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!