Go to the mall, they said, it's only for a few things, they said. Now here I am, all alone. All the stores are obviously closed because of the weather! Atleast the front doors were unlocked so I can warm up a bit before going back outside. Usually it's a two minutes walk from here to the house, but today... I don't even dare to look at the time on my phone. What kind of messed up family do I have? They were all telling me that ''It wasn't that bad'' or ''You are tough! You can handle everything!'' I don't know if I'm tough enough for that, but I know for sure I am stupid enough to believe them!

I can finally feel my face and feet again, so I brace myself to step back outside and walk all the way back home empty handed... The onlyl thought of the conversation I will have with the Family makes me want to stay here instead. But I still put my hand on the door handle, ready to leave when a muffled sound makes me turn around. I didn't notice how huge and creepy the mall is when empty and what I see in front of me makes me freak out even more.

A baby. Right there in front on me. Sitting on the floor and staring at me with their gigantic baby eyes. They are babbling and laughing and let me tell you, a baby's laugh can be the most beautiful and the most scary thing you can ever hear! My instinct is telling me to run away from that baby, we all know how horror movies start: With a freaking BABY! But I manage to stay calm and look around. There is no way this baby is alone. It must be the watchman that brought their baby because they couldn't find a babysitter or something. I walk a bit closer to the baby to get a better view of the place. My brain still fight between real life and horror movie. Real life win again so I shout out ''HELLO? I Found your baby?''

I wait and wait but the only thing I hear is the baby babbling and laughing ''What am I suppose to do with you?'' I crouch in front of the small human and my brain finally gets a good idea: Call the police. they will know what to do, right? I pull out my phone and... No battery. Of course! It's cold and I have a stupid Apple Phone! I promise myself to come back to the mall on boxing day to buy myself another phone. No more fruits phone for me anymore! I let out a big and loud groan, what should I do now?

There must be a phone around here that I can use. I'm about to go look for one, but I stop in my track. The mini-human. Should I bring them with me? Because finding a baby in an empty mall is sure scary but loosing a baby in an empty sure sound even more terrifying. So I grab them the best I can and start to look for a phone. They are so calm and nice and not full of saliva, I am actually impressed. I usually hate babies but this one is fine. Like I can almost see myself liking them... Almost.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

I walk and walk, occasionally shouting a little ''Hello'' or ''Anybody here'' But no answer so far. I'm almost at the other end of the mall when I hear a big and loud bang, making me and the baby jump in fear. The baby is on the verge of tears and I freak out. Both because of the sound and at the thought of a crying baby. And then again, my real life brain wins and I go straight toward the sound as I constantly repeat in my mind 'Monsters are not real, Monsters are not real, Monsters are not real.'

I stop by the door frame where the sound came from and I say with a little and shaky voice ''Hello?''

Someone jumps in front of me, making me scream and back off in fear. I can see the stranger putting his hands in front of him and shaking them, trying to calm me down ''Sorry, I didn't know there was someone else here- Oh you found her!''

and he just rushes to me and take the baby from my arms, to my relief at first, but then I get a bit nervous ''So this small human is yours?'' I ask, a bit suspiciously.

''Yes, she is my little adventurous daughter. I was almost done cleaning over there when I turned around and saw her little empty chair! I don't know what to do anymore! She is such and escape artist already!''

I can definitly see the resemblance between those two. He is his father for sure and she is visibly happy to see him so I finally relax. The father looks back at me and asks ''What are you doing here? Didn't you see the storm outside?''

''Oh I did, but looks like my Family didn't... They needed stuffs for the early christmas party so they sent me...''

''Doesn't sound like a really good family to me.'' He says, hugging his daughter closer to him.

''They are not that bad... Most of the time... I swear they are lovely 99.9% of the time!''

He lets out a small laugh and nods his head, saying he believes me. He then proceed to ask me how I got all the way here. When I tell him I walked, I can see disbelief, confusion and anger in his eyes. He insist on the fact that he is not letting me outside alone with this time. He only has to put his cleaning stuffs away and he is driving me back home. And with the fatherly tone he used I know that this was not up for debate or anything. I have to say I was a bit nervous to step in a stranger's car... You know, movie brain and everything, but he does bring me back home and he even make sure I get inside before waving me goodbye and driving away.

I take a deep breath and get ready for the other kind of storm that I'm about to face for coming back without the things they all needed so desperatly... Oh well, atleast I got some fatherly love even if it wasn't from my actual dad...