I was a child that went missing and now I’m a parent

This happened when I was 11 and I’m 52 now and this happened when my family went camping with a group of other families. <br><br>We had a 2 year old, a 4 year old and I was 11. We were at a lake with several other families and we were camping in a large group together. We were all set up in a large circle with a bonfire in the middle. I wandered off to get a snack from the cooler and walked back towards our camper with a sandwich and a water. It was night and the fire was lit and the other families were all sitting around it and having a great time. <br><br>I had a hoodie on and I was walking with my hood up because it was cold and I had my ear buds in. I got halfway back to our camper when all the sudden I realized that I was alone. There were no cars there, just my brother and sister sleeping. I had wandered off to get a snack and no one was keeping track of where we were. I was gone for a few minutes but it seemed like an eternity to me. <br><br>I started to panic and started to run. I ran towards the fire with tears streaming down my face and my hoodie up and my ear buds in. I was so scared because I didn’t know where my family was or if they were okay. I ran up to the fire and threw my arms up in the air and screamed for help. One of the fathers heard me and ran towards me and grabbed me and started asking me if I was okay and what was wrong. I was crying so hard I couldn’t talk. <br><br>He asked me where my parents were and I told him that I didn’t know. He asked me if I wanted to sit by the fire and wait for my parents to come back. I nodded my head yes and he helped me sit down and he got me some hot chocolate. <br><br>He told me that he would go look for my parents and he asked me to stay by the fire and wait for them to come back. I agreed and I sat there and waited for what felt like an eternity. I sat there crying for what felt like an hour and the man came back with my mom and dad. I was so scared that I had been left behind and no one had noticed. <br><br>They came over to me and apologized over and over again. They had gotten distracted by the fire and they lost track of me. They told me that I was never to be anywhere near the fire or any group of people that we were with without them. <br><br>The man who had sat with me by the fire asked if he could take me to get some ice cream and I agreed. I sat with him and his wife for the rest of the camping trip and he told me that he would always be my friend and that he would never let me go missing. He said that he would always look out for me. <br><br>The trip ended and we all went home. I never heard from this family again and I thought that I would never see them again. But now as an adult I can’t help but think of them. And I hope they are all okay. <br><br>And to this man that helped me I will always be so grateful for what you did for me. I know it was no big deal to you at the time but you helped save me. I will never forget the man that helped me when I was lost.