A lost child

It was the worst experience of my life . It taught me a lesson I shall never forgot . It will not happen again.

Angela was only one , pretty as a picture with laughing brown eyes . People would stop and smile , best over her pram and tickle her under the chin whenever I pushed her along the pevement to the supermarket .

On the terrible day though , I was in hurry , so we took the car shopping . It is a modern blue Ford and Angela’s little cot fits neatly into the back . I parked it in the multi-level car park in the supermarket complex.

Should I carry her into the store? She couldn’t walk very far yet . I knew I should , but then I thought of the great load of shopping I would have to carry back . I wavered , Then I thought I would take a chance . After all , Angela would be all right if I left her for half an hour . I Locked the car , leaving the window a little open . She was smiling and playing with fluffy little ball as I hurried to the store entrance . It’s no use denying that I was leaving Angela even though she was obviously in no danger all the same I almost ran from shelf to shelf , filling my trolley with the groceries we would need for that week.

The store was busy that day . There was a crowd at the Butter , cheese and bacon counter and I had to wait ten minutes before I could be served . In the end I pushed the trolley to the shortest of several long check-out queues . I glanced at my watch . I had already been in the store for half an hour.

Finally , I was through . I snapped my purse shut and loaded my groceries into eight plastic bags which I had brought with me . Then , heavily weighted , I left the store and walked across to the stacking car – park . The lift was out of order , as usual , so it meant climbing the Stairs .

It seemed an age before I spotted the blue Ford . There was nobody about . Eventually I reached the car . It was just as I had left it a real window slightly open . Doors locked . But there was one difference . The back seat was empty . No cot . No Angela.

Suddenly life became unreal . I remember screaming out “ANGELA ! ANGELA !”Where are you , darling ?” I remember fighting to open the car doors , forgetting they were locked . I remember shouting “HELP ! MY BABY HAS BEEN STOLEN !”

Then there running feet . It was a security guard ” Now calm down , miss”,he said . “Let’s see what we can do “as he spoke , an elderly gentleman carrying a shopping bag walked up to us . He stopped , a puzzled look on his face .

“How can I help you”? He asked , and I blurted out my dad story .

“But you do realise that this is my car,” he said.Then he took a bunch of keys out of his pocket and open the drivers door .

“What!!! , How!! ” I said.

********END*********