Lost During the Way
16
I was about five years old. My family and I were turning back from one of our best holidays we have had before! The hotel was really great with delicious foods, a wonderful aqua park, a funny mini club and a clear bright blue sea. I didn’t want to return home then I started knitting my eyebrows and said ‘’Mummy, I don’t want to return, please can we stay more hereee…?’’ but it did not effected.
About four hours passed during the way I was getting bored because there was nothing left except looking at the high and stable mountains. Also my head was shaking and my stomach was rumbling as I was really hungry. I asked ‘’Mum when could we reach İstanbul?’’ She said ‘’Not yet sweetheart!’’ One minute passed I asked ‘’ When will we arrive?’’ She replied ‘’Be patient, we’re still on our way.’’ I waited for another three minutes and asked ‘’How much time left until we reach İstanbul?’’ My father answered ‘’About three or four hours left.’’ I kept asking the same question then I said ‘’Mum I am starving!’’ She said ‘’Honey, you’re killing me!’’ then we decided to stop at a shopping mall to eat some meal.
We ate our dinner and started to look around the shops. First everything was OK but suddenly I realized that my family weren’t with me. I was shocked and started to look around. There were too many people at the mall but their faces weren’t familiar. They weren’t my family! First I called loudly to my mum but nobody answered then I called her name louder. A silence..! I couldn’t hear her voice. My hands were shivering. I was getting more frightened and started sweating. Tears were getting down from my eyes, with that panic I got out of the shop then I called my mum with my loudest voice ‘’MUM, MU....M, Where are you..! Where are you..?’’ I was alone at there. Everything got bigger and bigger in that moment but I was still little; the littlest, the tiniest thing in the middle of the mall! I thought my family left me at there and went their way without me. The thought made me feel worse and worse. The panic and fear got bigger in me then I didn’t know what I could do. I was only crying and hoping my mum to come and take me.
I went down from the stairs and went by the entrance of the mall as I thought if my family noticed that I was gone and if they decided to come, they would see me easily at there. I was still crying and waiting with disappointment and fear. Suddenly I realized a policeman near me, by the entrance! I remembered my dad’s warning about this situation ‘’Miss Pelin, please remember if you ever ,ever get lost at somewhere like malls you should look for someone can help you to call us! Is that clear?’’ These times I always said ‘’Yes dad, don’t worry I’ll find a way.’’ but in that moment he was right and I could understand him very much. I walked to the policeman and said ‘’Sorry, I’ve lost my parents could you please help me to call them?’’ He looked at me and said ‘’Don’t worry we will find your parents, please wait a second!’’ He went by a woman then said something to her. Few minutes later the voice of the speakers were heard by everyone at the mall, it was calling to my family.
A few minutes later I saw my family running towards me. I was happy to see them and felt relieved. We thanked the policeman then went through our way. After that condition our way to İstanbul passed with no bad event but I knew that I couldn’t forget this for years.
Özge Pelinsu Birşey
Photo by visle-en-terrasse.blogspot.com