She Asked Her Late Son for a Sign He Could Still Hear Her. Then He Responded (Exclusive)

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5 days ago

After a video explaining how a mom asked her late son for a sign went viral, Tara Stilwell tells PEOPLE about the outpouring of support that followedNEED TO KNOW
After the death of her six-year-old son, Tara Stilwell read Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe by Laura Lynne Jackson and felt compelled to ask Wilder for a sign that he could still hear her
In a video posted to TikTok, Stilwell explained how she asked her son to show her a red Lego
That same day, he responded with a signWhen Tara Stilwell uploaded a quick story to TikTok while her baby napped on her chest, she didn't expect that it would resonate with millions of people online.
Stilwell shared the video, which now has over seven million views on the app, "on a whim," taking to the platform to tell the story of how she asked her late six-year-old son, Wilder, for a sign that he could still hear her after his death."I had just read the book called Signs, it's a pretty common book people read directly after losing someone they love," she explains in the video. "It says to be really specific about what you ask for."
So Tara picked something that reminded her directly of her son: a Lego. More specifically? A red Lego.
Stilwell then recounts asking her son to let her see a Lego "in a place where it didn't belong."
https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf
Later that day, while sitting in the waiting room at her daughter's ballet class, Stilwell recalls seeing a family she had never seen before, and their young son playing. She struck up a casual conversation with the mom, who she learned was not originally supposed to be at the class that day and whose children were attending a makeup class. The boy, she recalls, was wearing a shirt identical to one her son used to own.Then, without a word, the boy walked over and placed a single red Lego in her hand. Stilwell recalls immediately tearing up, but wanting to hide it from the mother and the boy so as not to freak them out.
The moment, which she shared in detail on TikTok, has sparked thousands of emotional comments, with many viewers feeling compelled to share their own stories of "signs" from loved ones.
Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Speaking with PEOPLE, Tara discussed her reaction to the response from people online: "People have messaged me saying they felt inspired and they got a sign and it's just snowballed into this really beautiful thing."Stilwell, who lost her son nearly four years ago, says the video stemmed from a moment of reflection. "I was just thinking about how far we've come and how many moments I've had where I've felt connected to him and that just came out," she explains.In a follow up video, Tara spoke about how it has felt to have her son's name being talked about by people on the Internet. "I don't get to say Wilder's name in the same way that I used to," she says. "I obviously still say it everyday, but I'm no longer referenced as Wilder's mom. For just a second, I felt like Wilder's mom again."Adding on, she tells PEOPLE, "It feels so incredible to hear stranger's saying my son's name. But he like brought all these people together and it just is a testament of how special he was and continues to be."
Stilwell says she still connects with Wilder through dreams, memories and unexpected moments — like that red Lego. The moment with the little boy in the ballet studio has replayed in her head "many times.""Our logical brain wants to kind of explain it away. And my logical brain can't explain it away," she says. "It does not make sense. The fact that I had been breaking down and talking to him and asking for a very specific sign that I felt resonated with him, and then mere hours later, a stranger is not only wearing the same shirt that my son owns. He wasn't even playing with Legos — he was playing with cars."Stilwell continues to focus on the impact Wilder continues to have on her family's lives. After moving back to her hometown to be near family, Tara rekindled a relationship with someone from her high school — someone, she believes, that Wilder sent into her life.
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!"I truly believe that Wilder was like, okay, I'm gonna send somebody your way to like hold your hand through it," she tells PEOPLE.Wilder, she believes, even gave his blessing to her partner in a dream that he had. "It was when we first started seeing each other and he said that the dream took place at like the house we live at now. And he had like, walked outside and Wilder was standing there and said, 'Who are you?' And he introduced himself," she recalls. "And then Wilder said, 'Are you good?' And my partner said, 'I think, I think I'm good.' And he said, "Okay, you can stay.'"In the aftermath of the video, Stilwell hopes others can find their own connections too. "In order to connect with your loved one, you have to sit in the pain," she says. "If people can allow themselves to be vulnerable and sit with the discomfort, they can see the signs, they can feel connected to their loved one.
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