The reason ofcourse why I bring this up is because it once happened to me when I was ten years old. We had all gone to the U.K to spend our winter break.Two days before christmas ,for some weird reason, my mom decided to take us all to the Oxford circus to soak up some atmosphere and of course do some shopping.That of course was where the adventure reakky began.I was thrilled about the prospect of going to Oxford circus again and I mean, why not, because my parents has promised me that they would buy me a game from the HMV store there and what better time to get it than now.We all got ready and somehow managed to reach Oxford circus without any incidents which is actually quite a feat in itself, though not such a great one, considering how my parents clung onto me and my sister
Finally we reached the station and followed the throng of people that were making their way to the street above. When we finally stepped into the sunlight, which was actually quite fortunate as seeing the sun out in winter is quite unexpected, the sight that greeted me was amazing.There were people everywhere, in all shapes and sizes of all nationalitites and from all walks of life.The shops were all decorated and were all advertising sales to try and lure customers; tehre was music, light, the smell of cooking hot dogs and generally a busy, if not a merry atmosphere.
Anyway my parents are just ambling along soaking up the atmosphere and sometimes popping into some shopor other to check for bargains. When finally we arrived at our destination, at least it was the one I had in my mind. It was the HMV store so that I could buy the CD I wanted. I quickly made my way back through the crowd of people, got the cd I wanted and made my way back to where I had left my parents.There was only one problem when I got to where I had left them,to prepare for something that I had dreaded - my parents were nowhere to be found.
Strangely, the first reaction that I had was not panic or even tears, rather I was quite calm and collected. I quietly wandered from section to section searching for my parents and my sister , quite confident that they would not have left without me.I was sure that it would be only a matter of time before I would find them and I would be able to go back home. Of course as time passed by and the loneliness and enormity of getting lost in a foreign country which I knew very little about at the time began to play on my vivid imagination. I was still too proud though to cry and go to an adult for help besides the fact that most of the adults now looked like giants to me and that I was scared to death,in fact the very way I viewed things changed. The crowd of merry people in fact changed toa nuisance that kept me away from my parents and prevented me from seeing from my parents and prevented me from seeing them, the decorations that normally fascinated me did nothing for my state of mind and in fact it made me feel even worse.The cd which a few minutes ago, though at the time I was convinced it was hours would have given me a lot of happiness was deserted somewhere when I decided to take up the more important task of finding my parents.
Finally I am not sure how but I ended up at the security booth and through sobs, managed to explain the situation to the security guard. Actually telling the problems to the security guard was actually exactly what I needed.The way he took command of the situation calmed my fears immediately.Anyway the security guard got in touch with the main counter and they paged for my parents to come and collect me from the main desk.
The speed with which my parents arrived was actually quite amazing, within no time at all they were there and I was being held up and hugged. After my experience in the world being all alone, being with my parents was the safest place I could think of and till this day I have never been more relieved to see them.Anyway after that we did go home, not to worry I had had my share of adventure for the day and decided to stick to my parents like super glue.We reached home safely and of course after much recounting of the tale and even some scolding for running away like that we finally sat down to dinner.The dinner was excellent and I did not mind the scolding for the main reason I was still so glad to be with my parents, as well as the fact that to me the scolding seemed rather half-hearted.
Looking back now I still wonder how and why such a scary event seems to be etched so clearly and deeply in my mind.Was it because it was a first time away from my parents, the first time that I was alone in the world, even though for only a short while?I have no idea and will never know.One thing though I never did get the cd I wanted so badly and after all this I didn even want it
DONE BY:
PRATEEK MERANI
SR 5 F
