Mommy?!
1210 Words
Natasha made her way to the airport’s information desk, the little boy in her arms holding on to her neck even tighter.
“Excuse me,” Natasha greeted the staff behind the counter.
“Yes, how can I help you, Ma’am?” the woman asked politely.
“Well … I found this boy alone in the restroom at the far end of the terminal. I think he’s been separated from his parents,” Natasha explained.
The attendant looked at the boy—Daniel—who was curled up and hiding his face in the crook of Natasha’s neck.
“Do you happen to know his name?”
“Oh, yes. His name is Daniel,” Natasha replied.
The woman smiled briefly, “all right. Please wait a moment. I’ll check the passenger list.”
She began typing on her computer, but soon her brows knit together in a frown.
“There’s no passenger listed under the name ‘Daniel.’ I’ll make an announcement over the PA system instead.”
Natasha nodded, gently rubbing the boy’s back. He wasn’t asleep, but he wouldn’t sit up either. He just stayed leaning against her.
[Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We have found a young boy named Daniel. If you are traveling with Daniel, please come to the information desk immediately.]
Natasha let out a slow sigh, silently hoping the boy’s parents would appear soon.
“Just a bit more, Daniel. Your parents will be here soon,” she murmured.
She frowned slightly when she felt a faint movement, like Daniel was shaking his head against her shoulder. It was so subtle she couldn’t tell if it was an actual response or just an unconscious motion.
“The announcement has been made, Ma’am. Please have a seat while we wait for someone to come forward,” the staff suggested.
Natasha took a seat nearby, intending to set Daniel down beside her, but he only tightened his grip around her neck.
“You don’t want to sit by yourself?” she asked softly.
A small shake of his head.
“All right then, you can stay here,” she said, settling him in her lap.
***
Half an hour passed. The announcement had been repeated three times, but no one had come forward.
“Excuse me,” Natasha said, approaching the staff, “it’s been thirty minutes and no one has shown up. I’m starting to worry that this isn’t just a case of a child getting lost.”
The staff’s expression grew serious, “perhaps we should try asking the child a few questions.”
“It won’t help,” Natasha said, shaking her head, “I’ve been trying since earlier, but he won’t say anything about his parents.”
The staff paused for a moment, “then I’ll call the airport police. This doesn’t seem like a typical lost child situation.”
Natasha nodded and returned to her seat, still holding Daniel close. Soon, two police officers—one male and one female—approached her. The staff joined them.
“Is this the missing child you reported?” the male officer asked.
“Yes,” the attendant confirmed.
The man gestured for his colleague to approach. The policewoman knelt so she was at eye level with Daniel.
“Hi, Daniel,” she said kindly, “can you look at me for a moment, Sweetheart?”
Slowly, he turned his face toward her.
“Who did you come here with, Dear?” she asked gently.
He stayed silent.
“Was it your mom? Or your dad?” she tried again.
Still no answer. He turned his face back into the crook of Natasha’s neck.
“In that case, we’ll need to review the CCTV footage,” the male officer said.
“Wait!” Natasha interrupted, “I think Daniel might be hungry. Could I take him to get something to eat first?”
“That’s fine,” the officer replied, “but we’ll need to see your ID first. It’s just standard procedure.”
Natasha fished her wallet from her jeans pocket and handed over her ID card, “my name is Natasha Fernandez. I won’t take him far, just to the nearest restaurant.”
With their approval, she carried Daniel to a nearby eatery and ordered two plates of pasta. They took a small table in the corner.
“You must be hungry, huh? I swear I heard your tummy rumbling just now,” she teased lightly.
Daniel just looked at her with wide, unblinking eyes. No smile, no laugh.
“Can you eat by yourself?” she asked gently.
He gave a small nod.
She was about to dig into her own food but paused when she noticed his tiny hands trembling as he tried to twirl pasta onto his fork. His movements were slow and shaky.
“Here, Sweetie,” she said gently, taking the fork from him, “let me help you.”
Carefully, she fed him one forkful at a time. All the while, he kept his eyes fixed on her face. That innocent gaze made her chest ache, as if she could feel a pain buried deep inside this child.
***
By evening, they were back at the information desk. The police had been working to gather information about Daniel.
“Ms. Fernandez,” one of the officers called, “sorry, but we still can’t find his parents.”
She frowned, “what do you mean? Didn’t you check the CCTV?”
“Yes. But the footage doesn’t clearly show who brought him to the restroom. The last time he appeared on camera was in the lobby, walking with someone dressed entirely in black.”
“All in black?”
“Yes. We haven’t been able to identify the person. They walked Daniel into the lobby, then left right away.”
“What about his identity? Surely we could find his parents from official records?”
The officer sighed, “we tried. But Daniel’s birth was never registered. He has no birth certificate, so we can’t trace his family through the population database.”
Natasha was stunned. Without official records, finding his family would be almost impossible.
“For now, we’ll take him into our care while we continue the investigation. And thank you for looking after him,” the officer said.
Natasha nodded reluctantly. She didn’t want to hand him over, but this wasn’t her place. She was just a civilian who had found a lost child. The authorities would have to take over from here.
The policewoman reached out to take Daniel, but he clung tighter to Natasha, refusing to let go.
“Daniel, sweetheart, go with the nice police lady, okay?” Natasha coaxed.
He shook his head. Natasha glanced at the policewoman, silently asking for help.
“Come on, Daniel. Let’s go find your family,” the policewoman urged, trying to lift him.
But Daniel squirmed away from her arms.
Hic … hic …
He started to cry, and everyone froze.
“Hey, it’s okay, Daniel. We’re not bad people,” the male officer reassured him.
Then Daniel tilted his head up to look straight into Natasha’s eyes and whispered, almost too softly to hear—
“…Mommy.”
“What?! Mommy?!”
- Writer
