“Whoosh!” The automatic doors at the grocery store had always amazed me. Walking into Trig’s grocery store was fun for me even as a kid. The slight breeze of the junky air-conditioner had a funky smell that is hard to describe, but even the smallest amount of cold air felt good on my sweaty little body. This particular visit, my dad and I were on our way to the video store. Little did I know, at age three, there are a lot of things just waiting for you to wander into their traps.


As we continued on our way, we passed all of the sugary, teeth-rotting candy. Unlike any normal child, I chose to look the other direction towards all of the colorful, juicy fruit. I was begging my dad for my favorites, raspberries that explode in your mouth with a tangy burst of sweetness. I could almost taste them falling to pieces in my tiny jaws. Unfortunately, we came for movies and only movies, so no fruit for me.


My dad actually had to sweep me off my feet and haul me away from the produce section. The two of us were quite a scene. But once I couldn’t see it anymore, I continued to frolic my way to our destination.


When we finally arrived my dad must have been pretty tired, because he didn’t seem to be keeping a very close eye on me. His grip on my puny hand was loose, and seemed like it was going to fall off of me like a lifeless animal at any second. We both sauntered around the store for a while, and I remember passing a strange looking man with a long, tangled beard and a gray trench coat that hung down to his ankles. As he sulked past, the scratchy material of his coat brushed against my arm, sending shivers up and down my spine.


Then, out of the blue, my dad grabbed a movie off the shelf and let my soft hand drop from his, and I bolted.


At first it was really fun. I was scampering around the entire store, out of control, like a spinning top. That is until I reached the back of the store, where I came face to face with a giant, blue door. It was humongous, compared to me, anyway, at three and a half feet tall. It was just daring me to push it open. I could almost hear it whisper, “Alison, come on, just open me. You know you want to.” So with one mighty shove, I ran inside.


I realized right away that this was not a place I wanted to be in. There were scary movies all through out the tiny room, and frankly, I was terrified. I tried to push the door back open, yanking and pulling with all of my strength, but it simply wouldn’t budge.


As soon as I realized I was stuck the tears came crashing down. It was like tsunamis were running down my chubby little cheeks. I screamed until my throat felt like sandpaper. Out of all the movies in the entire store there had to be at least one thousand emotions. I bet I was feeling one that had never been portrayed before.


Now, while I was screaming at the top of my lungs, my dad finally realized I was gone and shouted, “Hey! Nobody leaves this store until I find my daughter!” I’ve been told that at first my dad suspected that the man with the trench coat had taken me. You see, I didn’t actually hear this due to my panic attack, but what I did hear was the lady who worked there say, “Shh! Be quiet! I think I hear something.” Everything became quiet. You could have heard a pin drop. Then suddenly the door was opened, and since I was leaning on it I sort of tumbled out.


My teensy brain couldn’t really figure out what had just occurred, but once I did realize that I had been freed I felt like my insides were exploding with rainbow colors. I sprinted towards my dad with much enthusiasm, and he was just glad that I was ok. Everyone in the store was staring at me like I was some sort of alien. I was very relieved when we made it out of the store.


When we went home there was some commotion for a while, but we quickly went back to our normal lives. I had been scarred for life, though. That experience changed something inside of me. I never take for granted being around my family anymore, and try to remember what it was like to be separated, even if it was just for a few brief minutes.

So next time you decide you want to go somewhere by yourself, I hope you remember this story and make good decisions. I know that I never want to lose my family and be apart forever. Do you?