A Summer Unlike Any Other

Another story I found in my laptop ;P I also made it for Writing class and it was based on a true-to-life experience. (And I presume you already guessed who were those two stupid kids who got lost in a mall. LOL)
Anyway, to those who can relate on the feeling of getting lost, try reading this one. To those who can't, anyway just read on...

 A Summer Unlike Any Other

                         Four summers ago, my family and I went with some relatives to a mall. It started with a clear, bright Sunday morning, without any trace of hint that would suggest something would go wrong that day. When noon came, we all went to a restaurant to eat lunch. Of course, having only adults with us, my brother and I were bored out of our minds. The food was great, but as soon as we got out of the restaurant, we couldn’t wait to explore on our own. 

                        We wandered around, aware that our relatives are following us. We passed an array of shops, lines of restaurants, and an assortment of stalls. After that, we went inside a bookstore. For a few minutes, we just checked comics, magazines, and other stuff. We got so indulged with them; we didn’t notice they were gone.

                         “Hey, did you see where they went?” I asked my brother apprehensively. “Huh? They’re just…” He looked at his back, stopping in mid-sentence. “Wait, I was sure they were just behind us a while ago.” Therefore, we started looking for them, searching shelf after shelf, and combing every inch of the bookstore. Finally, we decided they were not in the bookstore anymore.

                 We got out, realizing just how big the whole mall was and how stupid we were. My brother started pacing and I followed him, frantically glancing up and down, trying to find a recognizable face from all these unfamiliar people. Panic is starting to engulf me, my heart was racing a million times per second, and still, I couldn’t find a single one of them. “They couldn’t have left…” my brother told me uncertainly after a while. I was so hopeless I almost wanted to cry. ‘Two kids lost inside a huge mall without a single coin in their pockets. Great, just great.’ I thought miserably. Finally, we gave up the pointless search and started our way back. After a few silent moments, my brother said jokingly, “At least we’re not alone…” pointing to the crowd of people. “Ha-ha and what? Do we start living as beggars now?” We both started laughing until we came in front of the bookstore. Standing in front of it, the gloom and all the miserable feelings we had started coming back to us. We’re both goners.

                             For a few minutes we both just stood there. Then, “Bryan! Monica!” I heard a voice that almost made me laugh out loud with relief. My brother froze. Then, we both slowly turned around and saw our father calling out to us. Our faces broke into huge grins and we couldn’t help but run towards our father. My father asked where we went, but my brother just gave me a small wink, and told him we were just in the store. Later on, we found out that they were just inside one of the shops right across the bookstore. They didn’t notice we were gone, which was a relief, because it would really be embarrassing for both of us. It would be our shared secret forever.

               I will never forget the experience from that day. It taught me a lesson to never wander around on my own, especially because I’m still a child. It also made me realize how lucky I am to have a brother. Though he’s pretty annoying sometimes, I’m still grateful to have him in my life. In a way, it became one of the most terrifying and exciting summer vacations that I ever had.