Deciding To Take The Floor

(I’m around six in this story and shopping with my mom, and getting distracted easily. The mall is packed and I quickly end up losing sight of my mom in the crowds. I get upset and start crying and since my mom always told me to stay where I am if I get lost, I decide to sit down in the middle of the mall floor.)

Me: *crying*

Woman: *nearly tripping over me* “Woah! Hey, little girl are you all right?”

Me: “No.” *cries harder*

Woman: “Hold on! Where’s your mom?”

Me: *still crying* “I lost her!”

Woman: “Okay, why don’t you come with me and we’ll see if we can find her?”

Me: “Mommy told me not to move and not to go with strangers!” *crying harder*

Woman: “Okay. We’ll stay here, then, until she comes back!” *sits down, with all her bags, beside me on the ground*

(The woman was probably only in her early twenties, but stayed sitting with me and telling me stories to calm me down until my mother found me. She protected me from being tripped over and possibly injured. When my mom came back she declined the money my mom offered as thanks, instead choosing to hug me before saying goodbye. It was incredibly kind and my mom and I still talk about the story to this day!)