The Child
“Help me, please!” was the plaintive cry from the small girl.
Jeremy was standing nearby watching the child amidst a crowded mall, and no one noticed her.
Sure, people looked at her in her shabby clothes and hesitant speech, but each, in turn, went on with their shopping and chatting with each other without even thinking about addressing her call for help.
Jeremy, himself was not the most popular person in his neighborhood. He was the outcast, the different one. He had his quirks and had lots of fears when dealing with others, the neurotypicals as they were called. But a cry for help from a child?
Jeremy tried to focus. He breathed deeply. This sometimes helped. He slowly walked towards the child.
As he approached, the girl looked up at him. As their eyes met, some connection was formed. He understood her, and she understood him. Without any expectation, Jeremy bent down and hesitantly put out his hand. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
With similar hesitancy, the girl reached out, placed her hand in Jeremy’s, and sobbed, “I don’t know where I am?”
It took a while for Jeremy and Chloe (which was the girl’s name) to uncover the whole story.
Chloe had been taken to the mall and then abandoned. Whoever did that seemed tired of supporting a child as unique as Chloe.
Jeremy didn’t quite know what to do. He managed to find a security guard. Explaining the story was difficult for Jeremy. Despite his willingness to communicate with Chloe, talking to unknown adults was not a skill he had.
The guard took them both to the security office and called Child Protective Services.
Chloe was taken away, and Jeremy was allowed to follow and maintain contact with Chloe through this ordeal and when she was eventually fostered out to another family.
Though Jeremy felt positive about what he did, he hoped he never had to do that again.
