My Brother was almost kidnapped from a mall in the 90’s

This happened in the early 90’s when I was 12 years old and my brother was 6. At the time, we lived in a small town with only 3,000 people and not a single stoplight. We never locked our doors. I don’t think my parents even had a key to our house. I grew up in a place where I never really had to worry about my safety, unless you count the time I climbed a tree and fell out and hit my head on a rock. That’s a whole different story though. <br><br>Each year, we would take two trips. One trip to visit my brother’s dad in the city and one trip to visit my dad in the city. Each trip was 500 miles one way and always involved a stay in a hotel or motel. This trip was to visit my dad in the city. It was a fun trip and is a memory that has stuck with me for my entire life. <br><br>We stopped in Pryor, Oklahoma at a mall. If you haven’t been to Oklahoma, we don’t have malls. We have Walmart. So, for us, this was a huge mall. It probably had 50 stores and a movie theater and a huge food court. There were fountains and plants with a huge skylight above. I had never been anywhere like it. Back in the day, we didn’t have cell phones. We had to go to a payphone if we needed to make a phone call. <br><br>My mom had just gotten a haircut and was feeling pretty good about herself. So, she wanted to go into the mall and walk around for a few minutes. We walked through the front doors and I saw a kiosk set up in the center of the hallway. There was a man and a woman sitting at the kiosk. The woman was a few years older than me. The man was a lot older. He appeared to be in his mid 30’s. When we walked by, I noticed the man was smiling at me and I smiled back politely. I didn’t really think much of it, until we walked by again and he was still smiling. I thought it was weird, but I didn’t say anything. <br><br>So, my mom and I decided to stop at a sunglass hut. There was a pair of cheap sunglasses that I wanted. My mom said I didn’t need them but that she would buy them for me if I promised not to lose them. She paid for them and I put them on. I remember thinking that I looked really cool in my new sunglasses, but that they also made the lights hurt my eyes. <br><br>When we left the sunglass hut, we couldn’t find my brother anywhere. We walked up and down the hallway, but he was gone. My mom started to panic and told me to wait. I remember watching her run down the hallway and disappear. I started to freak out because I had no idea where my brother was or where my mom had gone. So, I decided to wait by the front doors. <br><br>I was standing there, in my sunglasses, when the man from the kiosk came up behind me. I didn’t know he was there, until I turned around and saw him. He was right behind me. I jumped when I saw him and he started laughing. He asked what I was doing and I explained that I was waiting for my mom. He asked if I was lost and I told him I wasn’t lost, but I couldn’t find my brother. He asked me if I wanted him to help me find my family. I told him no. I said that my mom went to find him. He kept talking to me and I started to get really scared. I didn’t know what to do. <br><br>I noticed out of the corner of my eye that a woman was walking towards us. I turned and looked at her and when I did, the man quickly walked away. The woman came up to me and asked me if I was okay. I told her that I was lost. She asked me where my parents were and I told her they were looking for my brother. She asked me to point out where I last saw them and when I did, she thanked me and walked off. <br><br>The next thing I knew, my mom was standing beside me, asking me if I was okay and then my brother was there too. I asked where they were and my mom asked me what I was talking about. I asked her who the lady was that helped me and she said she didn’t see a lady. I told her that the man was talking to me and my brother said that the man and woman were talking to him too. They had told him that they were his Mom and Dad and they were there to pick him up. He said they didn’t look like Mom and Dad, so he ran away. He had been hiding in a store, watching them, until they walked away. <br><br>We left the mall immediately. Even though it had been 10 minutes since we were separated, my mom acted like it was 10 hours. We didn’t talk about it until we got to the hotel. When we did, my mom said that it is not normal for someone to approach a kid and start talking to them. She said that I shouldn’t talk to strangers, no matter what. She made me promise not to ever talk to strangers again and I promised I wouldn’t. I felt terrible. I felt like it was somehow my fault. <br><br>I called my mom last week and asked her about the trip to the mall. She started crying when I reminded her of what happened. She said that when she couldn’t find us, she thought the worst. She said she has never been so terrified. She told me that she called the police on the way out of town and gave them a description of the couple. She said that the police told her they were probably just trying to make friends and that she shouldn’t worry so much. <br><br>I don’t think they were trying to make friends. <br><br>So, guy at the kiosk. Let’s not meet again.