My dad saved me from what I believe would have been the most horrific experience of my life

This is a story I’ve never told anyone. Ever. I don’t know why I’m telling it now, it’s crazy, but maybe it’s because I’m starting to not believe it happened. It was 22 years ago; I was 7 and my brother was 11. My parents divorced when I was 9 mo old and my dad remarried 3 yrs later. My dad was a truck driver and the company he worked for owned several other companies that were all part of a larger conglomerate, if that makes sense. For a time he was a “test driver”, what that meant was that they had gotten a contract from a different conglomerate and needed to test out their trucks to make sure they could transition over smoothly. For 2 months, my dad drove a truck for this other company and this is where the story begins.<br><br>My dad had a regular route he’d drive for 2 months. It was long, 5 days a week and often he’d be gone for 3 days at a time. He’d call home at least twice a day to talk to his wife (my step mom, who was the nicest woman alive. I called her mom. She died 11 yrs ago of cancer) and us kids. One day, he’s calling from a truck stop. Said he had about 2 hrs before he needed to get back on the road. He asked if my brother and I wanted to come to the truck stop and hang out for a bit. We had never done this before because 1, he was never in an area close enough for us to drive to and 2 because it’s just not safe for kids to hang out at a truck stop. But this particular truck stop was close by and he said there was a Denny’s in it and we could get something to eat and they had a gift shop we could look around in. My step mom agreed and off we went.<br><br>We got there and after almost not finding him (he didn’t give good directions), we saw him standing outside his truck waving at us. We pulled up and me and my brother jumped out and ran to him. He’s tall, 6’4, and we both as kids always loved hugging his waist and he’d put his feet on ours and slide us across the floor(I know it sounds strange now but when you’re little it’s fun lol) and we started to do this when he said “not right now guys. I’m not feeling good. I have really bad stomach cramps.” He looked green and I remember him kind of limping into the Denny’s. He ordered food and asked us what we wanted and told us to go to the gift shop and pick out some candy. This is the part where I don’t remember everything so I’ll just put what I do remember in bullet points:<br><br>• He told us to stay in the hallway with the restrooms because the doors to the outside were on either side and he didn’t want us to accidentally go outside. <br><br>• I remember kind of feeling confused because he didn’t specify which bathroom to be in but I thought that was weird at the time. I just decided to go into the ladies room because I had to pee anyway<br><br>• I came out of the ladies room and the hall was empty. My brother was gone and so was my dad. I don’t remember if I called for them but nobody answered. I remember walking down the main hall towards the dining area and I saw our table but they weren’t there. I don’t know where I went after that. I don’t even remember if I was scared. I just know that I didn’t find them<br><br>• I remember walking around and everything seemed different. The gift shop was where the Denny’s had been, the Denny’s was on the other side and where the gift shop originally was looked like an office. The hallway I was in was gone. Everything looked different and unfamiliar. I didn’t see anyone and everything seemed closed. I stayed calm and decided to look for a way outside. I found a door that said Employees Only. I remember thinking my dad would be upset but I opened it and found a stairway/elevator. I took the stairs and when I got to the bottom, there was another door and when I opened it, I was outside. I saw a building across the street with a sign but can’t remember what it was, only that it was a fast food place. I didn’t see my dad or his semi anywhere. I walked across the street, and as I got to the building, a man opened the door, he was leaving, and I stopped him and asked him for directions to the truck stop. He looked at me weird and said “there is no truck stop down here. You from around here? That’s not a good area of town for little girls to be out by themselves” I said I was looking for my dad and he asked me the nearest cross streets because he didn’t want to leave me alone. I told him and he walked me back to the corner. It was a 4 way stop but none of the streets had names on them. He said he’d walk me around until we found the truck stop. We walked for what felt like forever. Finally, he pointed out a gas station and said “does that look like it?” And it did. I started to cry because I’d been gone for what felt like hrs and I was starting to think I’d never see my dad or brother again. I finally felt scared. The man I was with told me to stay there and he’d go find my dad. I watched him walk inside the building and when he came back out with my dad and brother, I sobbed. <br><br>My dad was so relieved to see me and my brother was surprised to see me too. My dad asked me what happened and I told him everything and he looked like he’d seen a ghost. My brother said that after we went to the gift shop that my dad received a call on his cell and had to go outside to take it, that when he came back in my dad told him we’d already left and were waiting in the truck. That my dad seemed upset and kept saying “fuck, fuck, fuck” and looking out the windows and pacing back and forth. That he realized I wasn’t in the truck and told my dad who was visibly shaken and asked my brother to help him find me. My dad didn’t know where to look and was terrified he’d lost both of his kids. <br><br>I never forgot that day and always wondered what would have happened if that man hadn’t found my dad for me. If I would have just wondered forever until someone found my body. 25 yrs later, it still gives me Goosebumps. <br><br><br><br>Update: wow! Thank you all so much for the kindness and green lanterns. I didn’t expect this story to blow up so I apologize for not responding to everyone that made a comment. You all are very kind. I appreciate everyone who took the time to read my story. Thank you all again.