A DAD WHO DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ME WAS A BETTER FATHER PROTECTOR THAN MY BIOLOGICAL ONES: My Birthday Party Abduction Attempt

When I turned 9 years old, my parents and younger brother went on a road trip to a nearby large city for a few days to celebrate my birthday. A couple days into the trip, on my actual birthday, we had been wandering around a large public park where a lot of street performers were set up. I was having the best birthday ever.<br><br>As I continued to watch some of the performers, I don't know where my parents were. It doesn't matter. They were a long long way away from me, busy doing their own thing, completely neglectful and not watching their little girl. I was old enough at that point to be trusted to be a couple hundred feet out of sight, but still in range to see them and vice versa. That park was full of people though and I'm not sure at all why I can't remember what they were up to or how we got separated.<br><br>What I do remember was an oldish man near me. He started trying to get my attention and noticed that I was staring off into the distance, totally absorbed in my own little world of watching him juggle stuff. I remember he had a bright red nose and was wearing a funny red wig. I didn't like clowns and they always freaked me out, but it didn't matter. I was fixated on him for a little while.<br><br>Since I'm a kid and don't really know how to recognize and avoid strangers, he starts casually walking up to me. Right away, he starts asking me if I was okay and if I needed any help finding my parents. I remember him talking about being a dad too, and that he had children, so that must've made me feel a little better. But looking back, I should have trusted my instincts when I saw the creepy clown. Still, I was a dumb kid, and I told him my parents were around there somewhere and I was trying to find them.<br><br>I guess my stupid dumb ass must have seemed really worried because I was really trying to find my parents and couldn't find them. I think he noticed that I was getting really worried and sensed an opportunity. So he told me he would help me find my parents. Now at that point, I don't even remember if I had a cell phone or not, I was only 9, so probably not. But even though he could have asked for my parents' phone number and called/texted, he didn't do that. Instead, he tried convincing me to walk with him to the parking lot with him so we could find them and call and find them, I think it was.<br><br>It was this whole story about how he had a cell phone in his truck and that we could call them and get in touch and that'd they'd be happy to see us when they found out I was alone and lost. So we had to go find his car.<br><br>Now, I don't know why I didn't listen to my instincts. I don't know why I believed him. Maybe because he had talked about being a dad. But I was 9 years old and it didn't occur to me at all that I was being lured into the car to be kidnapped, raped, and then probably killed. But I must've been really naive and dumb because I was actually ready to follow him until this dad who was walking right by us stopped and asked what was going on.<br><br>The stranger I was talking to enthusiastically told the dad that I was a girl who was lost at the park and he was just trying to help me find my dad. But that dad trusted his instincts and he didn't believe it. He immediately sensed that something was wrong. So he asked me if I knew the guy and I didn't. He asked if I was sure that I didn't know the guy and I said yes again.<br><br>I don't know what was wrong with me. I mean, I didn't know the guy. But for some reason deep down, I didn't think anything was wrong with the guy either, even though now thinking back on it, a lot of red flags were raised. Well, the dad approached the creep and told him that he was my dad and that everything was okay. He was obviously lying and the guy probably knew it, but he played along.<br><br>The creep said he was glad everything was okay and got in his car and left. The dad thanked me for being calm and asked me if I could find my parents. I said I didn't know but I was trying to. So he stayed with me for the next few minutes until my parents finally found me. I thanked him and told them what happened, including the creepy stranger who claimed to be a dad and how the other dad saved me.<br><br>My parents were really grateful and thanked him too. They even paid for some of the street performers to give him a special birthday dance show as a thank you. It was super embarrassing for me but also gratifying because they really, really appreciated what he did. That's why I remember it so clearly. And that's also why it's so weird that I don't remember my parents asking the guy for his number or anything.<br><br>I wish I had more details about the creep who abducted me. I don't even know what the guy looked like. At the time I was more focused on his red nose and red wig, so I don't even know what his face looked like. Or his clothes, or his car. I don't remember anything about him except that creepy red nose and red wig that I'll never forget.<br><br>But what really does get lost in all of this is my parents. The dad who saved me was a better protector in those five minutes than my parents are in my entire life. They were so neglectful and absolutely didn't care about my safety. They were doing their own thing in the park and didn't even consider that they should have been keeping an eye on me. I was a kid! And I was just a little girl with long blonde hair.<br><br>Obviously, it didn't help that I was a little girl doing everything wrong. I trusted strangers and didn't even realize I was being abducted. Not too bright. But they still should have kept an eye on me. They were my parents. And not only did they not even keep an eye on me, but they also didn't even have my back after the incident, except to thank the guy who saved me.