Liya went missing in the store...and the happenings!

As I type this, my fingers are still trembling and I can still feel the twinge in my heart. A part of me is consoling the other part that it was just another normal day. But I know it wasn't! I have not had such a terrible shock anytime in my past... Did you know – we missed Liya in a store today! It's not as simple as that. At least for me.

We had been for spring festival in our masjid and on the way back I got an odd idea of dropping to Burlington coat factory because I wanted to buy some accessories for Liya. If you have ever visited Burlington store, you would definitely know the huge volume of things they stock and how difficult it is to navigate through the aisles. Weather turned out nice today after such a long gap,  and the store was crowded too. We were in the baby depot. I was checking something in an aisle and J in another.

 I saw Liya standing a few feet away from me... After 2 minutes I returned to J and Liya wasn't there anymore. "Where is Liya?"  "Isn't she with you?"  "No, I saw her standing here a minute before...!" We were not panicked right away, after all we are in the midst of toys and baby stuffs probably Liya would be hanging out near some dolls or books or anything that fascinates her. I wandered through all the aisles in the baby section, but she wasn't there any more. This panicked me. Because we both know Liya very well. She is one of those over-protective kids you find on the face of earth. Very over- protective that she will never stay farther than she can see us.

If you take her for a stroll in the evening, she would never get into the road, though I have never told her it is dangerous. She stays away from all naughty boys in the park because she is scared of seeing them throwing sands on others' faces and always been extra cautious about her own safety. This was quiet annoying for me that she turned over-protective in such an early age, an unwanted sense of fear on everything that seems to be fearful at first sight. So, such a girl would never go beyond an aisle.
 Even if, she would come back and recheck many times if she is safe. I was always been super confident to take her out because of her cautious eye for her own safety. So now, missing is a big deal for me.

I ran from aisles to aisles, I covered the the baby and junior section 4 times and called aloud for her. I did not want to believe that she would go far in two minutes and the store in Walden where we went is too big and packed with clearance aisles hanging out everywhere. I ran through other aisles I called her out, now I knew things have gone out from our hands. It's not as silly as we can just call aloud and she would turn up. Something is really fishy. J went to report in the front desk and I was still calling her aloud and running throughout the store. Everyone was looking at me and probably paused their shopping and started looking around for her.

As soon as J reported in the front desk, they turned on all security alarms and all exits and entrances were blocked down in a moment. None can go out! They put the announcement on and I was bursting out. I had nothing to do other than putting my trust in Allah. I was hardly able to walk. I was constantly reminded that Liya won't go missing at her own. You may think I'm stupid to think in that way about a 2.5 year old baby, but I still believe so.

For the first few secs, many images flashed through my mind- the police notifications I often receive in our post box warning about the people in the photos are kidnapping and sexually abusing kids, the news and photos of missing kids I see in Walmarts and in the hospitals, the breaking stories I had seen in TV about the huge no. of kids missing everyday in US. For a moment, when she was not responding to my loud calls even if the entire store was responding, believe me I thought my kids is really been trapped...! I cried out!

J wasn't as freighted as me. But I was. I have no words to say what I went through. We were the center of 'attraction' for a few minutes, people would be wondering what a careless parents are these, but reality no one knows! Suddenly she turned up in the front desk, holding a boy's hand, he was hardly 5-6 years old.  They came through the same aisle through which I had ran twice across before ending up in the front desk; in fact very far from where she was found missing!!!!

We were still in the shock that could not even ask him where did he found her. She was all upset because I was crying out.. and her name and details were been hear through all loud speakers and wireless devices. We didn't ask her anything but just continued our shopping as if nothing happened. In that dramatic moment, mixed with happiness and sadness we even forgot to say thank you to all who helped us in need. We both were simply speechless. All drama took just 15 minutes but the most dreadful moments we ever had in life. I just don't want to recall it again.

We got back into our cart and we're trying comfort her and suddenly the fire alarm rang. They asked for immediate evacuation and everyone walked out, fire engine rushed in. Everyone was discussing "what's going on- series of safety alarms..." and waited outside for about 10-15 minutes. Later they found that it was a false alarm probably some kid fell on the switch. Well, everyone laughed and walked inside. We finished our shopping, we did not ponder over the incidents.

Meanwhile I tactically asked Liya where was she. She told this: I went with baby. I am not sure if she is just referring about the climax when the boy took her to us... She told me the same thing twice and we didn't pester her, let her not know that something was wrong...We don't want her to go even more frightful about the world outside. But I repeat, she won't go with any one if they just call her. There are kids and friends here whom she knows since we're in the US and still she stays away from them because she couldn't include them in the safety zone in her mind.

Anyways, whatever happened is happened.. There is a lesson for us to take forward, be more careful about her, just don't be over confident about her sense for self-safety. We got back home, and was just recalling everything from the beginning and I was stuck at a question about the fire alarm.

We were told it was a fake alarm rang by someone and probably a kid fell on it. Now, have you seen a fire alarm as low in the floor and as silly as a toddler could fall on? As far as I know, the safety alarms are beyond the reach of preschoolers. Then why was there a sudden evacuation, immediately after the missing baby issue was over? Did they find anything fishy over the scenes in surveillance cam..? May or may not be... All these might be my mere suspicions emerged out of my anxiety of losing my child for a few minutes. I don't now if they would have allowed, but I think that we must have asked them to have peek at surveillance camera scenes to see how did she went missing... But we were just blank to think on anything.

Alhamdulillah Alhamdulillah! *All Praises Due to Almighty Allah*