Kidnap!

A half-eaten pink candy floss in one hand and a prized pink balloon on the other. She had her instructions clear in her head.

“Don’t go where I can’t see you.”

“Behave.”

“Don’t draw too much attention.”

Chanting each in her head repetitively, she head to her favorite spot, the carousel. She had to get up on the black horse for the ride. Her eyes were glued to the woman in blue, head full of golden curls, clutching on to her little baby boy as she stepped into the seating carriage in the carousel.

The boy, hardly half a year old, looked at her and grinned. He was pointed at the balloon. She handed it over and patted the boy on the head. The mother smiled back. The ride was about to start and Sheena quickly grabbed onto the black horse making herself comfortable. The candy floss smeared on the face of the horse a bit, but no harm done.

Through the 3 minutes ride, Sheena felt like a princess riding through the lush green countryside. She liked to imagine that everyone around her were her to beckon, her army. She was a princess after all. The candy stick was her weapon of choice. A heavy sword that could cut through anything. She was riding to war.

As the carousel slowed down, Sheena looked around, panicked, and started weeping. Lightly at first, but as the realization grew strong, her wails found a loud voice. She was in terrible trouble. The lady in blue came over, got her off the horse, and kindly asked her, “What seems to be the trouble young lady?”

Still weeping, broken words escaped her pink lips, “I can’t find my mother. She was right here.” The lady started looking. With a fair enough description from Sheena, the carousel caretaker called the administration office. Announcements were made, but Sheena’s mom wasn’t to be found anywhere. “May be she was kidnapped?” Sheena voiced her concern aloud.

“We’ll find her sweetheart. In the meantime, come home with us. Have a warm meal. We’ll head to the police station in the morning.” Sheena agreed.

Sheena and the lady left for the police station in the morning, as promised. Even before getting into the car, Sheena quickly ran across to the park and hugged a woman in red, crying hysterically. “You came for me, mom. I thought I would die. She drugged my candy floss, and even told the guards at the amusement park that I was lost! She tied me to a tree mom.”

Even before she could realize what was happening, Linda had handcuffs on her wrists. Her golden curls being pushed into a cop car. Sheena and her mom thanked the cops teary eyed. No one was listening to Linda’s side of the story.

As the cop car drove off, Sheena handed the key to her mom. “You did good Sheena. Let’s go get your baby brother. He will be your responsibility now. Train him well.”