Yesterday, I witnessed a terrifying scene…
At the bus stop, a little girl around 7 years old was standing there, crying, while the adults nearby acted as if they didn’t even notice her.
Today, I took my wife to the hospital and had to return home alone.
As I approached the bus stop, there were about 8 or 9 people standing there, and on the bench sat a little girl, about 7 years old, crying.
It was clear from her face that she had been crying for a long time, and she was shivering from the cold.
Not one of the 8 people standing there had approached her to ask what had happened.
It wasn’t very difficult to comfort her — I simply asked what was wrong.
She took a breath and said she was lost, that she had taken the wrong bus and ended up in a different neighborhood.
Naturally, I asked her where she needed to go. I also asked for her parents’ phone number, but she didn’t know it.
From the way she described things, I figured out where she lived.
I took her by the hand, helped her cross the street, we waited for the right bus, I put her on it, paid the fare, and asked the driver to make sure she got off at the correct stop.
The little girl thanked me and cheerfully climbed onto the bus and sat down.
But I was left with only two questions in my head:
First, how can parents let such a young child go out alone? The poor thing had no extra money and no phone.
Second, and just as disturbing — how could the people at the bus stop be so indifferent?
How could they not be moved by the sight of a crying child?
People are always shocked when a child goes missing, but often it happens simply because of indifference and lack of attention.
