Wednesday being a holiday here, I decided to catch up on some afternoon cycling before the kids took over the roads.
I circled the block once, saw a stranger( defined as someone I have never seen before in my complex) with a worried look.
Not used to interfering where I'm not needed, I continued circling the block.
I found few kids running around and wanted to get my 10 K in before more of them came.
The next time I saw her she was with another neighbour ( defined as someone who lives in my apartment complex and I have had casual conversations with) also with a very worried look and walking rapidly around the block.
I stopped.
and asked if there was a problem,.
"Children missing" she said and asked if I had seen a boy and girl together.
I had seen few kids, but no boys.
The stranger, said her kids were missing. They were playing in the park and were not there anymore.
Our apartment complex is safe. That is the reason I choose to live here.
We have security round the clock and around the blocks.
We have only one functional gate.
There are cameras.
Yet, we have had our own stories of delivery boys and thievery.
I continued cycling, now looking inside the parking lots and between the buildings.
I went back and met her near the park.
Panic had set in.
Security guards were walking around. Little kids were running around.
The mother was shaking.
What do we do when something like this happens to us.
We lose our head, we fail to think and sequence out events.
We panic!
That is why we reach out to others.
An outsider who can stay calm and think through situations.
I stopped, all thoughts of cycling now gone.
Spoke to her, asked if she was visiting someone here.
She mentioned she had moved in recently ( 2 weeks back)
her kids were 5 and 8 years old.
They were playing in the park with the other kids, but when she came down they were not there.
It had been an hour since then.
I asked about the school they went to, if they had friends in the complex.
She said they knew no one and the only person they knew was the girl who was running around in search of them.
I asked if they may have gone to someone else's house, she insisted they knew no one and would not do that.
How quick we are to forget the natural tendency of kids.
They trust easily, they make friends out of strangers without a thought or fear.
Being a holiday and the afternoon, there was no one around.
Other than the kids and the two women.
Some gardening staff and the security, Few drivers hanging around.
Office was closed
Someone had to take charge.
I told the security to get the keys to the office and have a look at the security camera.
he insisted that no kid had walked out, he was there are the gate, or someone was always there
I believed him.
They take their job seriously here.
Still for the sake of elimination, I requested them to go to the manager's home for the keys.
Next the cleaning staff were sent to all the toilets and storage rooms in all the blocks to have a look.
Sometimes kids sit around there, or maybe get locked in??
The security were made to walk and check behind each car park to check if they were not playing hide and seek. Innocence of kids!!
The kids were sent to check between the apartment blocks where there was plenty of hiding space.
The final person to talk to was the mom who was now in tears.
Questions were repeated,
Did the kids remember the apartment number?
Did they have other friends
Do they use the lift by themselves.
Did you check inside the apartment before you came down?
I thought back to my kids and the anxious moments I have had with them.
All came back with no sign of the kids.
I realised that they were in someone's apartment or sitting near the terrace entrance.
My kids have done that.
I sent the kids out on another mission now.
Go scream the two children's names floor to floor and building by building.
The mother was sent home to wait near the apartment.
I could feel the anxiety and felt for her.
I would have done the same, lost my cool, my usual clear thinking head if this had been my kids.
I have been in such situations and gone to various apartments looking for my kids. I have always found them laughing,
at that moment, I would yell, out of relief,
they would continue doing it over the years, not realising how much of anxiety they had caused in me.
The kids were found,
they were sitting in another apartment with other children they had not known before,
a random afternoon invite and they were laughing and playing and making friends like how kids should do.
Do we step in when needed?
Do we take charge when we know we can?
Do we have a clear head when others around us lose theirs?
Would we stop to help a stranger?
