I had the complete (as of then) set of He-Man action figures, with Snake Mountain and Castle Greyskull. Every morning I would set up a battle scene and when I got home from school, I’d enact the battle I’d spent the day dreaming up.

One day I came home and they were all. Just. Gone. My mom was home, which was unusual. I went to ask her where my he-mans were but she was crying and wouldn’t talk to me. My step dad was nowhere to be found. I asked my brother and sister, but they didn’t know. My toys were just gone. I was super sad.

The next day, my mom informed us that our step dad, who was possibly the biggest sadistic asshole I’ve ever known, overdosed on heroin and was dead. We didn’t have to ever see him again. I was super happy.

Many years later, I found out that the morning my toys disappeared, he beat the shut out of my mother and looted the house for anything of value, including my he-mans. He sold them, bought himself some heroin, and died.

Best trade ever.