In a truly heartbreaking story, a young boy in the French town of Loison-sous-Lens is believed to have spent the Christmas holiday alone in his home with the deceased body of his mother. The Daily Mail reports, “A 3-year-old boy is believed to have spent days over Christmas sitting alone by the dead body of his ‘sleeping’ mother in the hope that she might ‘wake up.’”

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At one point the boy’s grandfather called and the child apparently said, “Mummy’s asleep.” The woman’s work colleagues, meanwhile, assumed the single mother was ill and away, unable to call in.

The 28-year-old woman, Emilie Decroix, is believed to have collapsed due to an aneurysm, or weak bulge in an artery wall, which caused near-instant death.

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The hard-working single mom had not contacted anyone before Christmas, meaning she could have died any time between then and New Year’s Eve, when the child’s grandfather came to the house only to find his grandson sitting quietly by his mother’s body.

It is unknown how the child, who remains unnamed, managed to feed himself, though he was in good health and unharmed when discovered. He is currently in the custody of his grandparents.

–Chris Spargo