Lost!

Written by, Sarah Yung

Oh no! I looked around wildly. Where did she go? I was LOST in this gigantic place! I could not see my Great Auntie Katherine anywhere! Where was she? What would I do?!

That day, some years ago, my Auntie Katherine and I went to a department store in Stockton, where she and my Great Uncle Bill live. We were there to shop for clothes for me. All was well for the first half and hour, but then… I was gazing in awe at some interesting pattern on a t-shirt. When I was done, I turned and got ready to grasp Auntie Katherine’s hand so we could move on to the next rack of section. But she was gone. Like something in a magic act, Auntie Katherine was missing. Lost. Or rather, I was the one who was lost. I was lost in a humongous department, miles from home and with no from of communication such as a phone or a walkie-talkie. Speech was not in my favor- I was too terrified to speak to someone. Besides, I thought, whom would I talk to? Who could I trust? I was absolutely petrified. My heart beat thunderously in my chest pumping, no, booming into my eardrums so I could hear the sound surrounding me, and awful thoughts about being kidnapped or worse kept entering my mind. I was very anxious, and kept wondering where Auntie Katherine could have traveled so fast. My feet seemed to free up and I felt stuck, like gum in your hair. I took a couple tiny steps forward. And I stepped back again. Where to go? Being lost does not give me much confidence, in fact deprives me of whatever confidence I had in the first place. As I had never really been lost before, I did not know what to do. I frantically scanned everything around me, looking for my aunt. There were people, but not the right person, not Auntie Katherine. Suddenly, there seemed to be miles and miles of clothes racks all around. Where those people staring at me? UI wondered. Were they bad people? I did not know where to go, on there verge of rears and about to give up and hide under a clothes rack, I searched once more. And then, quite suddenly, I saw a figure in the distance. It appeared to be my Auntie Katherine… the clothes, the hair, they matched her profile. I ran over excitedly. It was her!!! I was finally safe at last!

The rest of the shopping venture passed uneventfully-except for one thing. I did not wander off, and make absolutely sire that I was holding on to Auntie Katherine’s had the whole time. So this story had a happy ending. I was safe at last. Well, at least until next time…