13 Wild Plot Shifts That Took a Wild Turn

Regardless of how confident we are in a story or how accurately we believe we can predict its direction, there’s always an unforeseen twist ready to surprise us, questioning everything we think we know about life or the people we care about. Every story in this collection contains a significant turn that completely alters the narrative, turning it upside down.

• When Dad passed, we were shocked to find he left some money to the son of his only brother — a man he hadn’t spoken to in years. No one knew what came between them. But Mom couldn’t let it go, so she spoke to everyone who knew the brothers. Turns out, they hadn’t always been distant. Growing up, they were inseparable. Dad, the younger one, was quiet and loyal, always looking up to his older brother. They did everything together, even as adults.
  
  But everything changed when my uncle and his wife struggled to have a child. After years of trying, my uncle turned to Dad for help, asking him to donate sperm in secret, never telling his wife. Dad agreed, and the child born from that decision grew up unaware of the truth. As he got older, he began to resemble Dad more than his own father, in looks, laughter, and mannerisms. My uncle saw it too, and what began as gratitude slowly morphed into resentment, leading him to cut Dad off entirely.
  
  Despite the silence, Dad never turned his back. He kept an eye on his brother’s family, knowing they were financially struggling. So, when it came time to write his will, he made sure his brother’s son, his son in a way, would have something as well. And while he’d promised never to interfere, he still felt responsible as a father, even if only in secret.

• One day, Dad brought home a young man to stay with us for a while. Mom swore she recognized him but couldn’t place him, but Dad kept silent. Then one day, the way he walked, slightly tilted to the right, made something click in her memory. Turns out, she’d seen that walk before.
  
  Years ago, she and Dad were in a terrible car accident. She doesn’t talk about it much, just that it was winter, dark, and over in an instant. Another car ran a red light and hit them hard. The couple in that car didn’t survive. But there was a little boy in the back seat, maybe five years old, who made it. Mom’s voice shook when she told me. “He had the same walk... because of the crash. The same side he used to limp on.”
  
  That’s when Dad finally spoke up. All these years, he’d kept silent, but after the accident, he found out what happened to the boy. Despite it not being their fault, Dad couldn’t stop thinking about him. He quietly helped, paying for things and offering support, never telling Mom or me. The boy, now a man, had fallen on hard times. With nowhere else to turn, Dad brought him in.

• When I was about 19, I met a woman in college. Long story short, we quickly moved in together, sharing a bedroom, checking account, the whole deal. Just after our first anniversary, while I was at work, she moved out without telling me. I found out about a month later that she moved out because she married her long-term boyfriend, who she had been with for 5 years. Her mom had never heard of me, and the older woman I met must have been an actor portraying her mom. It confused me for years. © rearwindows / Reddit

• My mom shows up at my grandmother’s house randomly. They’ve been estranged for a few years. My mom is 57, and my grandmother is 75. My grandmother says she doesn’t want to speak, that she’s getting ready for work, and to call if she needs to talk. My mother proceeds to scream at my grandmother, then puts something on my grandmother’s car and leaves.
  
  It’s a paternity test, saying her father is not her father. © JEC2eec / Reddit

• I had a little crush on this girl. After a couple of months, we started texting each other. After a few weeks, things started to get more serious, and she asked me to send a picture, so I did. We have a mutual friend who has a phone number similar to mine.
  
  She thought she was talking to the other friend, who was a girl. So, not only did she not know it was me, but I also found out she was not interested in men. © BeeHammer / Reddit

• I graduated law, and got engaged to the girl I had been with through university. We both applied for the same graduate program and ended up working in the same office in Canberra. Three months before our wedding, I found out she was cheating on me with our mutual boss, and I broke it off with her.
  
  Long story short, it got really, really ugly, and the two of us ended up in a very bitter court case over property. Canberra is a pretty small city, and the legal world is pretty bloody small there, too, and everywhere I went, I bumped into my ex. It was beginning to seriously get me down (her too, as it transpired), and I applied for an Australian government overseas development job in Tuvalu, a Pacific island with about 11,000 population.
  
  It’s quite a prestigious job to get, with only two positions offered for a two-year contract on a rotating basis. I was successful in the application and moved to the island to start my posting. To discover that my ex was the other successful applicant. I spent the next two years sharing a tiny office on a tiny island with the person that I quite honestly loathe more than any other in the world. © larriedbutmooking / Reddit

• A few years ago, my company was slowly going under, so I started looking for other jobs. I landed an offer with another company and went to give my two weeks’ notice to my manager. “I’ve been offered another job and I’m taking it. I’m putting in my notice,” I told him. He seemed a bit taken aback but responded, “Oh, well we hate to lose you. Do you mind me asking where you’ll be going?” “I’m going to [company],” I replied. He let out a long, drawn-out “Wow...” “What’s wrong?” I asked. He paused for a moment, then said, “I applied for that position too.” I couldn’t help but smile and said, “I’m sorry to tell you, but you didn’t get it.” © Contorto103 / Reddit

• [edited] My grandfather was always a fairly reserved and distant father as far as I understood. He was always coming home expecting dinner and then disappearing for the evening. After a heart attack, we all gathered for his funeral. We’re a big but close family, so we knew everyone, including his friends. But then, a man around my dad’s age showed up, someone none of us recognized.
  
  It turns out, he was my grandfather’s son from another marriage — one that lasted just as long as his marriage to my grandmother. Over the years, my grandfather had two families, seven kids with my grandmother, and just one with this other woman. They knew about us but kept their distance, and it turns out my grandmother knew all along but never said a word. © achybreakyballs / Reddit

• My high school friend started texting with a girl named Cheska who said she got his number off of a common friend. The girl became super flirty, and he immediately fell for her, without even meeting her. This was a time before social media, so he didn’t even know what she looked like.
  
  They texted for a month, and come October, she came clean. Apparently, Cheska was a guy named Rudolph, and he was just trying to mess with my friend. He got tired of the game and just wanted to stop. I can’t forget the scene of my friend crying on our school bench, listening to “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” while I tried to balance consoling him and not laughing.
  © slitchz / Reddit

• My friend was seeing a guy she had been crazy about for years. They traveled together, spent most nights together, and were talking about starting a family. One day, he texted to say he and his other girlfriend were engaged, so he couldn’t see her anymore. He pretended that my friend knew about her all along and told her she was unreasonable for being upset.
  © SaltedCaramel2 / Reddit

• After my dad passed away, my brother did our Ancestry line for fun. We found out we had a half-brother that my father didn’t acknowledge. He was married before my mom, which we also didn’t know. We started a relationship with him and his family, and all was well for a while... but now we realize he’s a complete tool who constantly borrows money, annoys everyone when things don’t go his way, and just makes our lives miserable in general. I truly wish I had never met him.
  © NTXhomebaker / Reddit

• [edited] A guy I worked with was excited about becoming a dad. He talked about his girlfriend, saying, “She’s amazing, she’s the one for me.” We didn’t know each other well, but as he talked about the pregnancy, we bonded. His baby was due just before Christmas, so he missed our work party for the birth. A few days later, he showed up, and I feared the worst.
  
  Turns out, his girlfriend had been lying about being pregnant to spend more time with him. At the time, I didn’t think much of it, but looking back, the fact that he mentioned her size without any context made me wonder if she was trying to hide the fact that she wasn’t actually pregnant. She showed him someone else’s ultrasound, and they talked about baby names and how they’d care for it. I don’t know what she thought would happen when the baby never came, but at least she came clean. After that, the guy left, and I never found out how he handled it. © Oberon_Swanson / Reddit

• My dad came from a very dysfunctional family. He was younger than his siblings by quite a few years. His sister is 14 years older than he is, and he’s always been very close to her. She has always been a good sister to him, the best she can after her childhood trauma.
  
  A few months ago, I was talking to a friend of mine who had known my dad for 50 years. He very casually dropped his theory that my aunt is my dad’s mother, that she had gotten pregnant very young and been sent away, then returned with a baby that they raised as her little brother.
  
  It was one of those things that are so simple I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.
  © edgarpickle / Reddit

You never know what surprising gems will come out of your children’s mouths. This article highlights hilarious moments when kids’ words left their parents speechless and blushing.