“Can you look after my daughters for me?”

I (24F) was about 12 years old at the time, and was often called upon by a neighbouring family to babysit. The father and mother both worked long hours, and their children, J (4F) and R (9M) were often left alone. I only live about five doors down from them, so when the mother could not find someone after school to watch the kids, she’d often call me or my neighbours to sit with them. One summer, the kids were home for holidays, and the parents were still away working at a normal pace. I think I was about 14 at this point, and one particularly hot day I was on my front porch reading a novel. I had decided not to walk down to the local park and spend time with my friends, as I was introverted and not particularly interested in group activities. She was about six at this point, and I could see her standing up at her window, waving at me wildly. I waved back, and the mother appeared at her window. She was frantically waving at me as well, and mouthed “can you look after my daughters for me?” I assumed R was there as well, but couldn’t see him. I nodded, and she looked relieved before closing the curtains. She came to my house a few minutes later, and the kids were with her. I was slightly confused as to why R was not there, but figured he was over at a friends house. She, for some reason, looked anxious. She was fidgeting, her eyes were bloodshot and she looked like she hadn’t slept all night. She explained to me that her and her husband had an important work thing they had to go to. I didn’t ask any more questions than that, I knew enough that I was sitting with J and S. They got in the car and left shortly after, and I took the kids back to their house. I asked J and S why they weren’t going to school that day, and they both said they weren’t currently allowed out of the house. I knew they had a lot of fights, but assumed it was a normal sibling thing until S said “We’re not allowed out of the house because of what happened, and we’re not allowed to go to the park” I probed further, “what happened?” S leaned in close “I’m not allowed to tell you, but we’re not allowed out of the house because of what might happen to us” I figured she was just being dramatic, new neighbours had moved in a few weeks ago. A man and his daughter, and you hear horror stories of the new people on the street kidnapping kids. I figured that was the reason they weren’t allowed out, but I wanted to push further. “Who told you that?” “The bad man” I didn’t push any further, as I was scared. What if my parents weren’t home and the man came to the door? What if it was the dad of the girl down the street? I decided not to push further, and went about my day. I played with J and S, and I looked around the house to see if I could find any trace of R. I couldn’t. I continued to ask them questions, and S told me that R was fighting the bad man, and that he wasn’t coming back. The day continued, and I took the kids for a walk. I was determined to show their parents how grown I was, and how I was not scared. I took them to the park, and we played on the swings. I thought it was a bad idea, and decided to take them to a nearby creek. We spent hours there, and I even put the radio there so we could listen to music. I decided it was time to head back, and we walked back to the house. When we got back, I saw a man watching us from a house a few doors down. I didn’t really pay much attention to him, and went inside to make dinner. I was starting to get really worried at this point, as the parents were supposed to be back over an hour ago. I tried to call them, but they didn’t answer. I decided to take the kids back onto the front porch, and I noticed the same man was walking up and down the street. I thought he was checking his mail or something, but I started to feel a sense of fear. I didn’t really know what to do, and I was alone with two young girls. I didn’t want to be a hero, but I knew I had to protect them. I decided to put on a brave face, and I called my mum to tell her the situation. When I was on the phone, the man with the daughter walked up to me. “I think you’ve been using my radio, is that right?” He was smiling, and I was frozen in fear. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was yours” “I know you didn’t. You look like a smart girl, can I come inside and talk to you?” I knew I couldn’t say yes, and I decided to end the call with my mum. I hung up, and said “my mum is here, she says that’s fine” “Okay, well then. Your mum is a very smart woman” He turned around and walked back to his house. The parents pulled up shortly after, and J and S ran into the house. I went to talk to the mother, who was in tears. “You kept them safe, thank you” “How were you so late, I was worried sick” “I’m so sorry, please forgive me. I didn’t mean to scare you” “Why is R gone?” The mother looked at me and burst into tears. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think he’d take them. Please don’t tell them what really happened, they don’t know” Suddenly, the father walked up to us and started hitting the mother. “You told her? You stupid woman” She fell to the ground and I started running. I heard the father yelling at me, “you didn’t see anything! You didn’t hear anything, do you understand?” I nodded and kept running. I didn’t stop running until I was in my front door. I decided I wasn’t going to sit for them anymore, and thought nothing of it until a few days later. A girl who I recognised from school came to my door. She told me that she was the girl who lived down the street from me, and that she had been kidnapped and taken away from her parents. She told me that she had been locked in this room, and the only person she was allowed to see was the man who kidnapped her. She told me her brother had been kidnapped too, and that she didn’t know if he was alive or not. She thanked me for being so brave, and told me that she was grateful to be alive. She’s about 24 now, and I doubt she remembers even coming to my house. But she and her mother always waved at me, with tears in their eyes. I think I was a good person for being there, but I only wish I could have been braver.

“Can you look after my daughters for me?”

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