It’s a small world.

We walked in silence all the way to the security guard, who immediately turned to us when he saw the crying boy.

“Excuse me, sir?” I called to him. “This boy got separated from his parents. Is there a way you could call for them?”

The man immediately perked up. “Yes, of course.” He had his brow furrowed as he looked down at Robert. Honestly, he looked too serious and intimidating. “What’s his name?”

I smiled at Robert. “Tell him your name. And your parents’ names.”

Robert held my hand even more firmly. “M-My name is R-Robert. M-My daddy’s name is Elijah, and my mommy’s name is Eva.”

It almost sounded rehearsed, like it was something he was taught to answer when asked.

“And your last name?” the guard asked.

“W-West.”

The guard nodded and reached for the radio attached to his jacket. “We have a lost child on the second floor right next to Samba’s Boutique. The name is Robert West, the parents are Elijah West and Eva West.”

We heard the announcement through the speakers not a minute later, announcing the same the guard had told them. They repeated it four times more, so all we had to do was wait and hope for the best.

We moved closer to the store the guard had pointed to, and I sat down on the floor with little Robert, leaning against a wall.

“So? What toy did you ask your parents for?” I asked him, trying to make conversation to get his mind off of, well, being lost.

Robert’s eyes brightened “It was a robot. It comes with a BIG laser gun and it lights up all over.”

I chuckled. “You like robots?”

“Yes! I’m going to build one when I grow up!”

“A robot or a toy?”

“A robot! A real robot that’s as big as my house!” His eyes were sparkling. He had already forgotten he was lost, apparently.

“And where are you going to store it?”

“Um… in the garage.”

“Will it fit?”

“Um… I don’t think so.”

“You’re going to have to build a place for it, too, then.”

“Yeah! A big hangar!”

Five minutes later, I heard quick steps coming towards us. I looked towards the escalator and saw a man and a woman running directly towards us. I stood up and pointed them out to Robert. “Are those your parents?”

The woman was very slender and had long, straight chestnut hair. A few wrinkles in her face said she had to be about her mid 40s..

“Mommy! Daddy!” The little kid ran towards her and the woman picked him up in her arms, eyes full of tears.

“Idiot, idiot, idiot!” she told him, hugging him for dear life, burying her face on his shoulder. “Don’t ever run away like that again.”

The man, meanwhile, walked up to the guard. “Thank you for finding him, sir,” he told him.

The guard shook his head, then gestured towards me. “The boy found him and brought him to me.”

“Ah.” Robert’s dad came up to me, and I had to say they did look alike. The man had short, blonde hair and blue eyes. He had broad shoulders and a toned frame, and he also looked to be around his 40s. “Thank you very much, young man,” he told me with a relieved smile.

I shook my head. “It was no trouble, sir.”

“We were looking all over for him. Where did you find him?”

“He was hiding over there,” I said, pointing to the vending machines. “I heard him sobbing and he told me he was lost.”

“Thank you, young man. Thank you!” the lady said, still hugging her son close.

I smiled. “I’m glad you found each other. Now, excuse me, but I need to go meet my friends.”

“Of course,” said Robert’s dad. “Don’t let us keep you. Thank you again.”

“Thank you Mister!” Robert said, waving at me with teary eyes but a big smile.

“Be good, okay Robert? Don’t make your parents worry like that.”

“I promise!”

I chuckled, waved back and turned to leave. Sometimes I imagined what it would be like to have a younger brother like that, but all things considered, maybe I wouldn’t be the best role model to a kid, so it was good I didn’t.

I met up with Mila and Noelle at the food court, we had something to eat and went back to our own houses.

***

That very next morning, I was in my classroom, sitting at my desk with my headphones on as I waited for the girls to arrive. I was leaning back on my chair, eyes closed and with my head almost hanging back as I lightly tapped my foot to the rhythm of the song I was listening to. That is until someone took my headphones off.

I opened my eyes to see Sarah’s face right in front of mine as she leaned down and pecked my lips.

“You,” she said. “I need to have words with you.”

I blinked. “What did I do?”

“I heard something interesting this morning. You were at the mall yesterday, right?”

“Hm? Yeah.”

“Did you find a lost kid?”

“Wait, how did you know?” I asked, jaw dropping.

Sarah giggled. “It was either you who found my little brother or someone who looks a lot like you named Olive Books.”

That caught me off guard and I burst out laughing. “Olive Books?”

“Robert is really bad with the names of strangers,” she told me before she leaned down again and kissed my cheek. “Thank you. It was when we were having breakfast this morning that my parents decided to tell me Robert had gotten lost. He then told me that a mister called Olive Books helped him. When I heard that, I asked my parents what this ‘mister’ looked like, and when the description matched yours, well… I had to tell them you were my friend.”

Wait… “Ah. He did say his last name was West. Huh. Now that I think about it, he does look like you. And you kinda look like your dad, too.”

“I get that all the time.” She sighed and nervously rubbed her neck. “And so… Well…” She cleared her throat with a cough. “When my parents heard you were my friend, they… insisted I invite you over for dinner this Friday, if you can.”

I blinked again, stunned.

“Y-You can say no, okay? Don’t feel **** to…”

“I’ll go,” I told her, smiling. “It’s a little scary, but I have to meet your parents eventually, right?”

“Right.” Sarah sighed with relief in her eyes. “Don’t worry, they’re pretty normal. My siblings on the other hand…”

“...You have three, right?”

“Yeah. Robert is seven, so he’s the youngest. Then there’s Violet, who’s nine, and Cole, who’s eleven.”

“How was Robert doing?”

“Oh, he told it like it was an adventure,” Sarah jokingly scoffed. “Little brat.”

I chuckled. “Let him. Boys need to appear brave, especially in front of their siblings.”

Sarah smiled. “So you’re really coming over this Friday?”

“Yeah. Unless you don’t want me there.”

“I’m… nervous, yeah, but I want you there.”

Well… I didn’t have plans for that Friday, but now I did. The world really is as small as a tissue.

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