The Lost Encounter

THIRD POV "Naomi, are you ready? Everyone’s waiting for you, baby," Elara’s mom said. Their errand today was to go to the park since it's Sunday. It is the family rule to have a bond at least once a week, which is Sunday. Elara is only 10 years old as of today and her sister Lara is 12 years old. “Coming mommy!” as she runs downstairs. She’s wearing a pink dress that suits her innocent face. “Let’s go, mom and daddy. I can’t wait to play again in the park”, Lara said, and Elara giggled as well and held her sister’s hand. The Valois family is one of the wealthiest families in the country, and it has a good image among the public. They have a good bond as a family, because her parents believe that true wealth is their own family. “We’re here, kiddos. Reminder, you do not go to someone you don’t know. Do you understand?” Her dad said in a strict tone. Both Elara and Lara nodded their heads as they understood what their father said. Elara has a different group of kids who are friends with Lara. They both played happily and enjoyed every moment in the park. After an hour of playing, Elara felt hungry, and she started finding her mom and dad’s place, but she couldn’t find it. She can't even find her sister Lara. Elara starts panicking and sits down in the grass as she loses her hope and waits for her family to find her. “Hey, what happened to you? Did somebody hurt you?” Elara heard a cute little voice, and she looked at the kid, and saw his face. Elara didn’t talk back to the little boy as she remembered what her father had said earlier. “Come on talk to me, I know you are probably scared, but hey, I won’t hurt you and I won’t leave you here,” the little boy said in a soft and caring voice. Elara felt his sincerity, so she decided to talk to this guy. “I’m lost, I cannot find my mom and dad, even my sister. I’m so hungry”, Elara said in a sad tone, because she really felt scared earlier and also felt hungry. “Okay, I’m going to buy you something to eat. What’s your name?” Atticus said. “I’m Elara Naomi Valois, and I’m 10 years old. How about you? You look kinda older to me”, Elara said. She started wiping her tears and smiled at him. Atticus is from a wealthy family also, but he is the oldest of his family and everything they have is in his hands in the future. “Well kiddo, I’m Atticus, and I’m already 12 years old. That is why I look older than you,” Atticus said, as he looked at his wallet to see if he still had money left to buy something from Elara. “Just wait for me here and don’t go anywhere. I’m just going to buy you something to eat and drink”, Atticus said and patted her head. He goes to a small store to buy Elara bread and water, and he immediately runs back to Elara’s place. The small white bread and bottled water felt heavy in Atticus’s eight-year-old hands as he hurried back to the spot where he’d left the little girl in the pink dress. His brow furrowed as the familiar patch of green grass remained stubbornly empty. A knot tightened in his stomach, a feeling far more unsettling than the usual playground.