Catherine (4): something lost (1)

Lost Souls

Elwood City was the perfect place to raise a child. Growing up, I thought my parents held us captive in the worst town in America. How come our mall doesn't have the best stores? Where is the luxury district? Why is there no fashion scene? I mean, back then I was a real pain who wanted to leave as soon as I could.

But then I left for college, met a guy, and got married. I was smart and finished college first, and we did everything right. When he asked where we should settle down at, I told him I already had a job lined up back home, so I went back to Elwood City. We bought a house, a four-bedroom house in the outskirts of town so it would be a little cheaper, and we started our family.

What made Elwood City perfect was hard to explain. Our schools weren't the best, but they weren't the worst either. The mall dried up, but there were still plenty of other family-friendly places to visit. My favorite location in town was the shopping district whenever I got a moment alone, but with the kids, I would visit the park behind our subdivision. There's a walking trail that circles the entire park, but there are two different playgrounds too. One is for smaller kids like mine, while the other is for bigger kids. There's a picnic area between them where parents can sit and watch both sides. Seeing that my oldest is two years older, my day to become one of those moms was fast approaching. Any day now the oldest would ask to go on the big kid playground, and I'd say yes—his puppy dog eyes were really hard to resist.

So on this particular morning, we made the short walk over to the park. I made them walk half a lap with me first, taking the long way around to the playground. A parking lot was on this side, not that it got much use. Elwood City had enough sidewalks that most people walked in, though there were a few cars today. One reminded me of the neighbor's car, which made sense. She was in her eighties and still walked for exercise, but the slight hill on the path leading up to the subdivision was too much for her. I didn't recognize the others, but that happened sometimes in Elwood City. It was a big town.

"Momma, that one! That one!" my oldest jumped. I sighed and looked over the area. School was in session already, so the playground was mostly empty. There was a toddler there with his mom, but otherwise it was deserted. The playground for smaller kids was somewhat crowded, but not enough that I couldn't keep track.

"Okay, but be careful," I warned, letting go of his hand. He darted up the stairs and to the top of the jungle gym as his little brother carefully found himself a spot in the sandbox in the little kid area. Another kid soon joined him, so I looked back to his brother. He was attempting the fireman's pole, but this one was farther out. He couldn't reach, and thankfully he turned and went down the slide instead.

"They grow up fast, don't they?" a young woman smiled.

"Tell me about it," I laughed, looking back to the younger son before looking to the older son, who was attempting the monkey bars. They were the shorter ones, thankfully, so when he fell it wasn't so bad. He immediately climbed a nearby ladder and found a telescope at the top of the other side.

The young woman sighed, "My oldest is in school this year, and that one will be there next year," she pointed to nowhere in particular, or at least I didn't see anyone she was pointing at. I looked from oldest to youngest and back again. The oldest was climbing up the slide unsuccessfully. I stifled a laugh as he gave up and ran around to climb up the right way. He didn't have a care in the world, so I looked back to his brother—still playing in the sand, this time with two other kids and a mom.

"He starts next year too," I said, pointing behind me, "but that one has to go to preschool first. His brother didn't need it, but I think he's going to. He's in physical therapy to help him walk better. Some kids just take more time."

"Yeah, my oldest has a few issues, but it's nothing the school system can't fix. They've got programs for everything. A classmate of his even has a service animal they helped him get. How cool is that?" she asked, pulling out her phone, "Would you like to see some pictures?"

I pretended to look, but I was really studying my kids. The youngest had moved on to the swings but he couldn't do much. He lay on his stomach and kicked, but the swing didn't go anywhere. The oldest was trying to climb up the slide again, still unsuccessfully.

"Cute," I said, standing, "I'm going to push him on the swings. I'll be back," I said, turning the youngest so I could keep an eye on his brother. He had climbed up the right way again and found a phone thing, but there were no other kids around so no one could answer him.

"Higher, mommy!" the youngest demanded, so I pulled back further and let him fly.

"Hold on tight," I warned, seeing him swivel back and forth. He held on tight as I said, so I pushed him again. Back and forth, forward and backwards—the kid was having the time of his life.

I stood to the side to check on his brother—now he'd found a lookout tower and was waving at us. I waved back before pushing his brother again.

A moment later, the youngest demanded a potty break. There was a building nearby, so I took his hand and went over to the big kid playground. The oldest was going with us whether he wanted to or not, but getting him down was a problem. He too was having the time of his life, but I wasn't about to leave him out there. Yeah, my parents let us roam the town, but times were different back then.

"Now!" I called up. When he didn't move, I started to count, "ONE!" I yelled.

That got him moving.

But the youngest was dancing. Newly potty trained, the delay was too much. I looked down and saw a puddle at his feet.

"Mommy, I sorry—"

"You're fine," I said, turning to his brother as he ran up, "When I tell you to come to me, you come right then! No excuses!" I hissed, pulling them both towards the bathroom. I made the oldest go while I changed his brother. With new underwear and pants, he was fine again.

"Can I go back?" the oldest asked.

I shook my head, "No, you didn't want to come back. I'm not playing that again. Play with your brother. He wanted the seesaw earlier but no one would play with him—"

"SEESAW! SEESAW!"

The oldest groaned but followed him over. I retook my seat and found a new face by the tables. Another young mother, this one chatting with the first. She held a Starbucks cup as if it contained gold. Twin girls were running around in matching outfits—definitely hers.

I took a seat and watched my boys. As I did, another face joined me, an older woman. I scanned the group but didn't see any new kids. Oh, she must be taking a break, I thought.

"I love watching the kids play. My oldest is in high school, and the others are in middle school. All three hate me," she smiled, shaking her head, "We haven't been anywhere like this since before they started school. This wasn't here then, you know," she said.

I nodded, "I know. When I was growing up, this was just a historic site. I think the marker is back there still, but this was all woods."

"Exactly," she smiled, pointing towards it, "My mother watched them put it in, and I watched them break ground on this site once they graded it out. I have pictures," she said, pulling out an envelope instead of a phone. She didn't seem that old, and yet here were pictures clearly taken on a disposable camera.

I looked over them before looking up. The youngest was in the sand while the oldest had a swinging contest against the twin girls. They were taller and got more air than him, but he didn't seem to mind.

The older woman sighed, "I miss having kids this age. Oh, they were so small, so wonderful. They questioned you, but not with the malice that the older ones do. They hug you later and tell you they love you, but the older ones you have to force. Oh, these were the days," she cried. I was watching my sons, but a lady beside me comforted the woman, taking her hands and starting a conversation with her.

A moment later, my oldest fell out of his swing and hit the ground hard. His brother and I went up, tending to his now scraped elbow. He almost broke his nose too, but the impact wasn't as intense. I helped brush him off and talked him into returning to the outbuilding so we could wash up. He wanted to go alone, so I called into the men's room to make sure it was empty before sending him in.

As soon as he returned, the commotion started. We stood outside the building and watched as a young woman frantically went around the smaller playground, then the bigger playground, looking for her child. I recognized her as the woman who comforted the older woman, but the older woman was no longer there.

"Mommy, what's going on?" the oldest asked.

"I don't know," I admitted, walking back to the picnic area, where parents were calling their kids in. Everyone soon had their children back with them, but that woman's son was gone.

"Let's split up and look," another mother suggested.

I shook my head, "I'm calling the police. Where could he have gone?"

No one went against my decision, so I called the police. I allowed both boys onto the bigger playground as long as they were together. The youngest struggled, but his brother helped him as I gave the dispatcher information. A few minutes later, one officer arrived, then another. Then the mother was pulled aside as officers soon gathered the rest of us together. I refused to leave my boys, so an officer approached me at the bigger playground.

"Are you the one who called?" she asked.

I nodded, "I figured it was the best idea. You guys can cover more ground if he did wander off."

"Did you notice anything suspicious?" she inquired.

"I'm not sure," I admitted, "I was in the restroom when the search started, but I did notice an older woman wasn't over here anymore. She said she was here to reminisce because her kids are older now, but I don't know how she left so fast. We were only away for a second."

The officer took down a description and left me with the boys. It was nearing snack time for them, and both were pretending to hunt down food. I decided it was time to go, so I had them come down. The oldest held the youngest as they descended the slide. I wanted to give my information to the officers just in case they needed to talk to me in the future, then I had to leave with my boys.

I was watching the news with my husband late that night. I folded shirts and pants while my husband worked on blankets. Suddenly a breaking news story crossed the screen.

"Isn't that the park behind our house?" my husband asked.

I nodded, "A boy wandered off this morning. I spoke with the police before bringing the boys home for lunch. I think I'll take them somewhere else tomorrow. It's supposed to rain anyway," I said, studying the headline, "Wait, they're saying he was snatched."

"Wow, you just can't trust anyone now—"

"That's the lady!" I exclaimed. A composite sketch appeared with PERSON OF INTEREST underneath and a number for the local police department. I turned to my husband, "There was an older lady there. She left while I had the boys in the bathroom, and that was when the boy disappeared. I guess they think she did it."

"And you helped them with that description? That's amazing. You could be a real hero," he said, taking my hand, "Why don't you keep the boys at home until this blows over, maybe take them over to your mom and dad's if they want to play on a playground."

"But there's rust everywhere. I'll take them to the McDonald's playground instead, but you're right. I need to be extra careful right now," I said, turning off the television and putting away what I had left in the basket, "Let's finish this tomorrow," I said, climbing into bed.

A few days later, I was getting lunch ready while the boys destroyed—I mean played in—the living room. The oldest ran up to me and said there was someone at the door. I had him go back to playing while I answered the door.

"Hello, officer," I smiled, looking them over, "Is everything okay?"

"We're just questioning the locals about the woman that was seen at the playground the other day—"

"Oh, I told you about her. I'd never seen her before, but she said she had three kids, one in high school and two in middle school. I know she could've made it up just to be there, but it couldn't hurt to check, right?" I shrugged.

"Thank you for your help," the officer nodded. I wanted to ask them how serious this was, how much risk was involved with my own kids, but they were already marching up to the next house before I could get myself to speak.

After the boys had lunch, I decided we needed more exercise, so I took them to Target for slushies and to walk around. There was a fun kiddie place next door that seemed overly packed, and that's when I realized we probably weren't the only ones keeping our kids indoors until they figured this out. Elwood City had some really smart residents, and they weren't about to let this happen to them.

When we were done, I brought the kids home and held them as they napped. I had plenty of housework to do, but I wanted to hold them close. I knew that other woman could very well be me, and that missing boy could be one or both of them. I had to play it safe, and that meant no more big playgrounds. It was sad, but it had to be done.

It took over a month to find him. The older woman was the mother of an older kid in high school, but that was the only child she had. He was caught bragging about skipping school that day to go play with some kid, but it took a while to put the pieces together. By then, the kids and I were going stir crazy, but we were managing.

That poor mother? I didn't even want to think about how she felt. Knowing that a nice older lady held your attention while some sick guy kidnapped your son was too much. Knowing that they both eventually killed him and dumped his body in the woods? That was too much. I couldn't even think about it myself. To lose something that important to you?

My husband and I talked about leaving the city. My job as the weekend clerk was something I could do at any hospital in the country, and I could probably make more money depending on where we settled. We could pick a safer place, one where kids weren't getting snatched at the playground.

I debated it for days. I mean, this was something we needed to think heavily about, and I came up with a decision after several days of going back and forth. We had to stay. At least we knew the people here and what to expect. I knew now to just not talk to anyone at the playground, and the boys would have to stay at the same one when we went. Maybe the youngest could swing at the bigger side while his brother played—anything to keep them close. I had to be able to watch them, and that was a feasible solution. I mean, it beat moving to a whole different city with its own set of problems.

So we stayed, but I will never forget what happened to that little boy. A family's worst nightmare? I couldn't shake it, and I shouldn't. A life was lost that can never be returned, and he deserved to be remembered.

~End

A/N: Piece 17 of 100 for my 10x10 Challenge. If you want more info or would like to participate, you can find the list on my profile page and PM me with any questions. You don't have to go this dark with your pieces, and you don't have to finish them in a month either. Just let me know when you've posted so I can read your responses.