Every time she visited, my mother-in-law brought pistachios in a clear package for my five-year-old daughter. At first, I thought they were a harmless treat, until one day my daughter developed a stomach ache
I knew for a fact that my mother-in-law loved and adored my five-year-old daughter. She visited her granddaughter once a week. They played together and chatted nonstop. Everything was as usual. But there was one detail that sometimes made me wary.
My mother-in-law came with the same clear bag of pistachios. My daughter was delighted every time, as if it were the most long-awaited gift.
I was always a little confused that the bag of nuts was unmarked, without a sticker, just a clear bag.
One time, I couldn’t resist asking:
“Mom, where do you buy them?”
“From a friend at the market,” she answered casually. “They’re delicious and healthy, not like those store-bought ones laced with chemicals.”
I didn’t argue. Well, that’s what grandmothers are like. They love everything “natural.”
But one day, after another visit, my daughter started complaining of stomach pain. She was crying and writhing in pain, and I panicked and took her to the hospital. And there we learned something terrible
The doctor was silent for a long time, looking at the test results. Then he looked up:
“Are you sure the child isn’t taking any medications?”
“Of course not! She’s only five!”
Then he said something that made my skin crawl: traces of powerful sedatives were found in her blood. The doses were small, but harmful for a child.
“Someone gives her these regularly,” the doctor added.
I returned home and the first thing I did was open one of the remaining bags of pistachios. The smell was strange—the nuts seemed to be saturated with something bitter. I gathered everything up and went to the lab.
The results came back a day later: the nuts did indeed contain traces of sedatives.
I couldn’t believe it. When I went to see my mother-in-law, she looked genuinely surprised, even frightened.
“I didn’t mean any harm,” she began. “It’s just… the neighbor said your daughter is too noisy and nervous. And that’s bad for her heart. She used to be a doctor, after all. We decided a little sedative wouldn’t hurt. I just mixed a drop into the nuts…”
I couldn’t believe my ears.
“You gave her medication without a doctor’s knowledge? Without my permission?!”
“But I did it out of love!” she almost screamed. “I didn’t mean to hurt her, I just wanted her to calm down!”
From that day on, the doors of our home closed to her. It took a long time for my daughter to recover, both physically and emotionally.
Now I know: even the best intentions can be more dangerous than any poison.
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