My sister, my saviour

"Hang on, where's the baby?" I could hear it in Ma's voice. Baba was in big, big trouble.

"Misha, where is Darian?" Her voice was making that funny noise like it did when she got angry and the blue veins were popping out of her forehead.

Baba looked really confused and said, "He's right here".

He does not even realize he is pointing at nothing; just an empty space in front of the purple suitcase which is next to the suitcase he is leaning on. He's so funny sometimes.  

We are at a place called the airport where all the vroom vroom planes come and fly away to other countries. We are going to go on one of those planes to visit my Dadi - "To America", as Ma told me a few times. She likes to prepare me for things. It is one of those things she read about on a parenting blog, I have heard her say. She loves to learn about everything.

My parents are fighting. Ma is doing something called "checking in" where people look at a lot of little green books and take your luggage away. Baba is typing very fast on his phone with that angry look in his eyes. He always looks angry, but really is not. That is just the way he looks. He normally does this while "checking in", but he was having something called a "work crisis". So Ma had to do the "checking in".

She is very annoyed about that. I tried pulling at their clothes and tapping on their legs, but they are so mad at each other that they are not paying attention to anything else. Not even me! Can you imagine? Me! I am so adorable. That is what everyone tells me - "Darian, you're so adorable."

Since they are fighting and Api is not here, I am feeling a bit bored. Let me explore this airport a little. It is nice and dark here where I am sitting. Maybe I will just explore this place. There are lots of funny wires to pull and I have the perfect view. I can see them and everyone around me clearly, but no one can see me. There are advantages to being small.

 I will just cry loudly when I am ready to be found when they get over their silly fight and start paying attention to me again.

They are both looking around now. "I can't believe that I left our child with you for five minutes and you managed to lose him! In an airport!" Ma is pacing past all the check-in counters like a lioness looking for her cub. ROAR! She is very protective of me.

"I'm telling you, he was right next to me just a second ago. Let's walk back to our line. We can't get into immigration until Amari gets here anyway. Let's just stay calm and look for him. You know how friendly he is, he probably found another kid somewhere and I'm sure their parents will look for us." Baba knows Ma does not like to freak out even though she is feeling like she is "freaking out" right now.

"I really hope he is okay, Misha. An airport is such an unsafe place, with traffickers and drug dealers and COVID and germs everywhere. This place is so disgusting. And you know Darian licks everything." Poor Ma looks very worried. Baba is laughing at her. "I can't believe you put germs in the same category as traffickers and drug dealers. I'll give you COVID."

I can see them exactly from where I am sitting. Which is not very far from where we all were a little while ago. There was an empty desk next to the one where my parents were checking in and right inside it is where I am right now. Ooh what is this on the floor? Let me put it in my mouth. Oh no. Gross gross. Bleugh! Ok, good now it is out of my mouth with all the "baby saliva" as Ma calls it.

Baba is laughing. Good. They seem to have gotten over their fight. Let me just start crying. They will be SO happy to see me.

"Don't laugh, Misha. This is all your fault. I really can't process being around you right now. I need to focus on finding my son. I'm going to go towards this end where the bookstores are, please go to the other end and search for him. We'll meet back here when we are done looking. Hopefully one of us will have him by then and Amari will be here too."

No, no! Don't do that! I want to get in my stroller! Don't walk the other way! Pleeeeease.

"Fine, but let's not let this ruin our holiday. Come on. Everything will be okay. Calm down." Uh oh. Why would he say that? Why would he tell her to "calm down"?

"Wah! Waaaaaaah".

She just gave him that super scary look of hers and stormed off. Again. They are so mad at each other that they are not even hearing my cries. And they are both walking super fast. They have gone so very far and I cannot see them anywhere. I wish Api was here. She would know what to do.

"Ei! Eikhaney ekta bacchha ase." A wrinkled old lady with a red mop has found me. Ooh. I love mops. Nobody is paying any attention to her. She is picking me up. Don't pick me up! You're not even wearing a mask. My mom is going to be furious about the COVID germs.

"Tumi bhoye peyo na. Ami tomake ekta office roomey niye jachhi. Oikhaney tomar baba ma ke dakbey." Why is this lady trying to take me to some office? That is not where Ma and Baba are! I am going to kick her and scream. "Wah waaaaaah". My parents are going to come for me right now! Do not take me away!

I do not understand why all these people are taking videos of us with their phones and not even trying to stop this lady. What is wrong with people nowadays?

I am kicking her really hard in the face, but she is not letting me go. Sigh. I feel sad. And scared. It is so hard being a toddler who understands everything when the world does not want to or try to understand you. I miss my parents. I miss Api. Wah!!!! Wahhhhhhh!!!

"Darian, what are you doing here? Where's Baba and Namira Khala?" Oh my goodness!! It's Api. She has saved me!

This silly old lady finally lets me go and I run over to my Api and hug her legs super tight. I know everything is going to be alright now.

The author is a lover of the cosmos, a truth seeker and a mother who writes sometimes. She also reads the tarot. Reach out to her at [email protected].

This story is part of a collection produced by Mayflowers Writing Workshop run by author Shazia Omar. To join the next session, please email [email protected].