The Lost Child

Vanishing Act

Another weekend of work, but I'm just glad I was able to get my shift shortened. I could be doing other things with my time than watching an empty store. I glance at the clock; only a few more minutes until I'm off. The sun is still high in the sky. Maybe I'll go somewhere new for lunch today. I glance over my counter. Everything is clean and tidy. I drum on the counter out of boredom. Nothing else to do. The door chimes sing out. A man wearing a blue and white striped shirt identical to mine enters the shop. The door swings to a close behind him.

"Hi, Mark." I wave.

"Oh- hey...Maria." He stammers. I glance at the clock. It's still a quarter to before I'm off.

"You're early."

"Well, you know me... Always early." He says as he places his hands in his pockets. I'll have to take his word for that. "So you're the one who used asked for the shift change." He continues. I nod in response.

"It gets super boring here. I figured I could use my time better. I'm sorry. I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, no. Not at all. More money for me." He chuckles. "So, uh... Maria. Got a question for you-" He begins speaking, but my attention is pulled behind him. The safari hat clad boy walks into view from the store's front window. I haven't seen him since last week. He can't be lost here again. I lean on the counter trying to get a better look behind Mark. The boy walks to the far side of the glass and goes out of view. I'm going to talk to him this time. "-yeah, so I was just like... kinda curious-"

"Sorry Mark. Can you watch the store for a second?" I dash out from behind the counter.

"W-What? B-But-" I walk passed him and open the door.

"Thanks!" I dart out the door. The boy is just down the street, not even to the next block yet. "Hey, you! Come back!" He glances up from his map and turns to the left down an alleyway. There's no way he didn't hear me. I chase after him and turn down the alley. I can see its end before I even enter it. There's a stack of boxes and pair of trashcans, but no safari hat kid.

"Hey, little boy. Are you hiding?" I call out, and walk down the alley. "I'm not gonna hurt you." I peek behind the trashcans. Not there. I turn my attention to the boxes. "I just want to ask where your parents are." I continue. I look behind the boxes and see nothing. I take a step back. I know I saw him enter here.

"H-Hello? Anyone here?" I turn around and hear nothing, save for the noise coming from the street. Where could he have gone?

                                                                                      ***

"Thank you. Come again." I hand the customer his change and receipt. He stuffs it all in his back pocket and grabs his bag from the counter. The next customer approaches. Only two people left in line. I'm ready to start scanning. The elderly customer sets his empty basket down.

"Turns out, I didn't need this after all. I didn't realize all the alcohol was kept up here." I take the basket and put it at the top of tower behind the counter.

"Which would you like?"

"Can I get a Golden Lavish, please?" I turn to the large shelf behind me. I spot the bottle with the golden-leaved label among the plethora of colors. I see that there are several sizes of the amber drink.

"What size?" I ask without turning away.

"Can I get a half liter, please?" I grab the bottle, scan it, and place on the counter.

"That'll be $26.08, please." He reaches into his pocket and begins to pull out cash. As he does so, I slip the bottle into a brown bag. He hands me the money. I return his change, and hand him the receipt. He takes the bag from the counter. "Thank you, come again." I hear footsteps approach from behind me.

"Lunch time, Maria." I turn and see Allie standing behind me.

"Oh, thanks, Allie." I stand back from the counter, and she takes over. "I'll see you in 30 minutes, then." I pick up the stack of baskets, and carry them to the front of the store. I set them in the designated spot and exit through the front doors. I check my watch. 4:05. A little late for lunch.

"Where should I eat today?" I glance at the other shops around me. "I'm feeling something... less than healthy today." I turn to my right and run into something waist height.

"Oops! I'm sorry." I look down and see the safari hat boy glancing up from the large paper. From this angle, I can get a good glance of the crudely drawn images and lines on it. It must be a pretend map.

"Sorry, lady." He immediately walks around me, and then stares straight back at the map. I'm not letting him get away today.

"Hey! Wait a minute, you." He jumps and then turns around. "What's with you, kid? I see you walk up and down here every few days or so."

"Oh. I'm looking for my sister." He looks back at his map and continues walking away.

"Hold on. Looking for your sister? Where are your parents? You can't just walk around town by yourself."

"Oh. Well, Mama works hard, and she's always late." Poor guy. Must be bored by himself, and sad if his sister is missing. Wait, his sister is missing? She's been missing for at least two weeks then. It's been at least that long since I first saw him.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Ted." He answers. I feel bad for him, but it's too dangerous for him to walk around alone like this.

"Well, Ted. My name is Maria. I can't just let you walk around town alone. It's dangerous. There's all kinds of weirdoes out on the streets." His eyes widen as I speak. I open the door to the shop. "Come on. In you go-" Before I can finish, he turns and bolts down the street.

"Come back!" I chase after him. Why is he running? I'm only trying to help. I gain on him, little by little. I outstretch my arm, and am about to grab his shirt collar, but he abruptly turns down an alleyway. I skid to a stop just beyond the alley. I whip around and dart down the alley. I halt as I enter it. It's the same alley from the other day. There's nowhere to go, but he's not here.

"Ted. Come out. I'm not going to hurt you, but it's not safe to be by yourself. I wait for a response, but get no reply. "I'm sorry if I scared you, but you should be at home playing, not out here." I walk and look behind the trashcans, but don't see him. "Ted, where are you?" I check behind the boxes, but I don't see anything. How does he do that? I glance to the end of the alleyway and don't see anybody. I peek inside one of the boxes. Empty. I peek inside the next. Nothing.

"Ted? Are you even here?" I rifle through the rest of the boxes, but they're all clean. I turn towards the trashcans. I pull off the lid; however, there's no sign of him.

"Come on! Not here either?" I shout in frustration.

"Oh, you poor dear." I hear an elderly voice from the end of the hallway. An old woman walks up to me. "Minimum wage just isn't enough now-a-days, is it?" She continues as she thumbs through her purse.

"Oh, no. See I was just looking-" She grabs my hand and puts a bill in it.

"I wish I could do more." She says as she takes my hand and holds it with both of hers. She turns and walks away. I glance down at the money in my hand. A $20. I glance down at the money in my hand, and then back up at the woman walking away. Confusion overwhelms me, and twice over at that.

"But- I..." I don't even know what to say at this point. "T-Thanks!" I call out. I look down at the bill in my hands. Well, free lunch, I guess.