Laura
“Are you saying my daughter was kidnapped?” I asked fearfully.
“I’m not saying anything, but that could be a possibility. There are a lot of criminals who trick children with sweets and stuff and then kidnap them,” said Terence, and I put my hand on my chest in fear.
I swallowed hard at the glaring possibility that my daughter had been kidnapped. Good God, if that were true, then everything was much more worrying than I thought.
“Terry, don’t scare her like that. And even if someone with bad
intentions had lured Annie with sweets and treats, the girl is smart and would know how to stay away. Laura is educating her daughter very well so as not to fall for those mistakes,” said Ava to reassure me. She and Terence were still on their way, coming to Staten Islan to help me find my daughter.
“Far be it from me to want to panic, Laura, but the fact is a fact. The girl may be smart, but she’s only five years old. You can’t expect much from a five-year-old child,” replied Terence in response.
“Why not? There are some very intelligent children, and Anne is one of them!” Ava defended her speech.
“Don’t be exaggerated,” said Terence, clicking his tongue.
“You are exaggerated! Exaggerated and slower than a child!” Ava shouted at him, but by that point, I had already turned off my cell phone.
I quickly grabbed a taxi and looked up the address of Caleb’s house. If my daughter had been kidnapped, clearly that boy knew who had
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kidnapped her, he was my only solution.
When I arrived at the boy’s house, it was his mother who opened the door for me. “Laura? What a surprise! Is there a problem?” Natasha, who was Caleb’s mother, and I had already met a few times at our children’s daycare meetings. She was a nice black woman who always treated my daughter and me well.
“Hello. I’m sorry to come like this without warning, I just have a concern,” I said to her with my eyes almost watering. I was so worried about my daughter’s safety. Night had already fallen, and it was getting colder and colder.
Natasha noticed me and said empathetically, “Oh my God, were you outside in all that cold? Please come in.” She gave me space to enter her house.
“Thank you very much,” I said, entering their apartment, which was a nice, edgy place belonging to an upper-middle-class family.
“Mr. Thompson? Hello again,” said Ned Jackson, who was her husband. We had met earlier today when he picked up his son fro daycare. Now he was setting the table for dinner with his son and h
wife.
“Hello again, Mr. Jackson,” I said with a wan smile. I could barely really smile.
“You’re here at a good time, sit down to eat with us. I made grilled fish, Cal’s favorite,” he said with a chuckle. I noticed that Caleb was in the living room watching television.
“Thank you for the invitation, but I came here because I’m worried. I haven’t been able to find my daughter since I picked her up from daycare,” I told them, who showed empathy for me.
“Oh, my goodness,” said Natasha, placing her hand close to her chest and sympathizing with my situation. Being a mother too, she must
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have known exactly what I was going through at the moment.
“What do you mean? Your girl is missing?” Jackson asked, worried, too.
“When I went to pick her up, I couldn’t find her at the daycare, which is very strange since my daughter never has this type of behavior. I believe your little son was the last one to see her before she
disappeared. If you allowed me to ask him some questions,” I asked with an anguished heart.
“Of course, don’t worry. Everything will be fine, she shouldn’t have gone very far,” said Natasha, patting my shoulder.
“Cal, come here for a minute!” She called her son Ned, who
approached us as cheerful as ever.
“Yes, Dad? Hello, Mrs. Thompson. Did Anne come with you?” The boy asked nicely, and I smiled at him.