If only kidnapping were that easy.

5:00 p.m.
My mother was working at the store, my father probably locked up in his room at my grandmother’s house(his mother’s house), probably sleeping off the wild, heavy night he had had the night before.
My parents were divorced back then and I was home–as always–with my 5 year old brother and Mary, the woman who helped around the house/nanny. She had been working/living with us for about 3 years. We really trusted her.
I was about thirteen years old and was watching TV when suddenly Mary came over to where I was and told me she was walking with my brother to the corner store to buy some junk food.
“I’ll come with”, I said.
“No, it’s okay. You should stay here in case the phone rings. I’ll bring you something, though. What would you like?”
“But I want to go with you, take me with you”.
“NO”, she said in a more serious, grown up voice. “You should stay. What do you want from the store?”
That moment I knew something was wrong–or was about to go wrong– but my brain kept telling me that I was paranoid.
During that time I had been my brother’s mother. My mom worked all day and we only visited my father on the weekends––and not even the whole weekend because he was too busy going out with friends; drinking and potentially doing drugs all night long, so he slept most of the daytime. Me and my brother would have been all alone if it wasn’t for my grandma who took care of us and tried to entertain and educate us as much as she could––Which made me the one who had to take care of my brother when we weren’t with my granny. I fed him, bathed him, played with him, punish him if he did something “bad”. Everything a mother is supposed to do, I did it. A thirteen or fourteen year-old girl taking care of her 8-years-younger brother.
“Whatever... some chips and a lollipop” I told Mary.
She held my brother by the hand and left. I returned to the show I was watching on TV.
About two minutes later I felt that weird feeling in my heart again. Something that told me I had to get up and go to where they were. So I grabbed my skateboard and ran out the door to catch up with them. Halfway on the street I saw them and scared them from behind.
“Boo!”, I screamed.
“You scared us”, my brother said, laughing.
I can still remember Mary’s face as if it was yesterday. She suddenly turned pale and kept walking holding my brother’s hand more tightly each step she took.
When we got to the corner in front of the store, where the bus stop was, a man who looked like a shady, military guy got off the bus in a rush and said to Mary: “Are you ready? Ready to go?”.
I realized Mary’s sister was also there. For an unknown reason she was holding a bouquet of flowers and didn’t say anything, she didn’t even look at me.
I looked Mary in the eyes and asked where she was going.
“I’m taking your brother for an ice cream” and she pulled my brother closer to her.
I grabbed his other hand and pulled towards me. “NO, you’re not taking him. Why did you lie to me?”
She tried pulling him once more but I had the strength of pulling harder. She let him go and finally told her: “He’s not going anywhere with you”.
She got on the bus with her sister and the mysterious man.
That was the last time we ever saw her. She left all her clothes and belongings in my house and never came back.
I still don’t know what she was planning to do with my brother. Tons of theories have crossed my mind. From kidnapping him and asking for a ransom, to probably selling him or prostituting him.
We never knew what her plan was and I thank the higher power for that.
My mom called later that evening to check in on us.
“Mary tried to take my brother”, I said, very calm and serene, following that with the whole story.
She immediately closed the store and came home.
I don’t know what made me react at that moment but it saved my brother’s life. I saved my brother’s life.
I have no memory of what else happened that day, except the story I just told you.
What if I had stayed home, watching TV, waiting for my chips and lollipop? Not only would I still be waiting for that but for my brother as well.