Talk:The Sandman/@comment-24319282-20140622171343/@comment-25340844-20140824220330

The reader automatically assumes that Daniel's mother died or left her husband and child as she is featured nowhere in the story. This is revealed to be false. James was a lonely guy living by himself who desperately wanted a child, and somehow ended up making a deal with The Sandman. We can gather from their conversation that the Sandman agreed to temporarily "lend" a part of himself to James, from which he created a child. The Sandman returns to James to reclaim this child / piece of himself and everything indicating the child once existed (photos, clothes, bedroom, etc) disappears. Nobody but James remembers the kid, so he's forced to pretend his son never existed.

The ending hints that the Sandman is still hanging about and that James' new partner will make a similar bargain with him in the future, as she longs for a child just as James did.

I hope that's a bit clearer. Not sure if I've done a good job of explaining this.