Little Annie

The annual fair was in town again. Colors, smells, sights, and crowds, dazzled Annie. She was a little girl with pigtails. Her eyes became round with amazement as she drank in all the sights and sounds and wonders of the town fair.

                                                     Annie and her mom and dad had come to the fair from their village. This was the first time they had brought Annie to the town. All of 7 years, Annie was agog with excitement. She kept asking questions as they piled up into their Morris minor and drove to town.

                                   "How far do we have to go?

                                   When do we reach there?

                                   How will the town be?

                          Will there be other little girls like me there?

                                   The questions fluttered from her and reached her mom as she tried hard to answer as many as she could. Her dad was desperately trying to control their old car as they weaved through the occasional traffic. An enormous truck loaded with supplies blared its horn loudly as it overtook them. Dad winced and held on to the steering wheel and swerved the car just enough. He sighed deeply and continued to focus on the road, ignoring the babble between Annie and her Mom.

                                   Finally, they reached the outskirts of the town. They set the fair up at the town grounds. As they approached the site, Annie started jumping up and down in her seat. "Oh my! Oh my! We reached! I am so excited," she kept trilling as they parked in the lot. Naturally, she was the first to jump out of the car. Her Mom ran after her and caught her.

                                   "Annie! you must be with us all the time. Otherwise, you might get lost in this fair. Once it happens, it will be very difficult for you to find us because there are so many people here. Do you understand?" She waggled her forefinger at Annie to help her understand.

                                   "Okay Mom, I will clutch on to your finger tightly."

                                   "But let's go let's go let's go let's go..." Annie chanted in a sing-song voice. The three of them set out. They walked around the fair. The crowds milled about the grounds. There was a cacophony of sounds. Colors and shouts intervened alternately as Annie watched, astonished.

                                   "So many people? Where do they come from Mom?"

                                   "From all over the region. There are many little villages like ours Annie." Mom explained.

                                   The Giant wheel fascinated Annie The way it was bobbing up and down slowly on the horizon. "Mom! I want to go to that ....."

                                   "You mean the Giant Wheel?"

                                   "It will be hard for you to sit in it, darling. You can have a look at it. I will take you as close as we can, though" assured Mom as she held Annie's hand tightly.

                                   It was not usual for Mom and Dad to take off to the town too. So they started enjoying the sights and sounds too.

                                 "Grace," said Dad, "Do you remember the last time we came here? How we saw the conjuror's tent?"

                                   "Yes, I do Rick darling! I remember that we got our palms read by that Indian guru too. What did he say will happen to us? It was about seven years ago. He told me that I will get a 'wee little one' next year. I kept asking him if it will be a boy or a girl. Remember?"

                                   "Of course I do, Grace darling."

                                   Grace turned to hug Rick.

                                   "Oh, Rick! Where is our little Annie? She is not clutching my hand anymore. I got totally involved in reminiscing with you. I didn't realize. I am so sorry darling. Where is little Annie now?" She started sobbing. Rick hugged her.

                                   "There, there, darling Grace," he said, "Let's lookout for her. We will surely find her."

                                   Frantically the couple started searching for Annie. They stopped many people, asking them if they saw a lost little girl.

                                   Annie was crying. Great big sobs escaped her. All around her, she found strangers eying her. They scared her. "Mommie! Daddie!" she screamed.

                                   She watched The Giant Wheel which had fascinated her. But was not interested. Her only thought was, "Where is Mom? Where is Dad? Where am I? What shall I do."

                                   Annie burst into sobs again. She was shivering with fright. One kind lady took her in her arms.

                                   "Don't cry, little girl. I will help you. Tell me what is your name and the names of your parents. I'll get the for you."

                                   "My name is Annie," sobbed Annie, "My Dad and Mom are called Dad and Mom."

                                   She continued to cry her heart out. She couldn't recall the names of her dad or mom. The kind lady took her to a soda fountain and got her a soda. She refused to drink. She continued to chant, "Where is my Mom? Where is my Dad? where am I? What shall I do?"

                               Meanwhile, Grace and Rick were desperate. They rushed to the organizers of the fair and lodged a missing child complaint. They sat at the broadcast office of the fair and waited. And waited. Finally, they gave Rick a chance to air an announcement.

                          "Dear people, " cried Rick in a broken voice, " I am Rick. My wife is Grace. We have lost our little child Annie in the melee near the Giant wheel a few hours ago. If any of you find her, please bring her to the Fair Office. Tell her we are waiting for her year. Please Please..." This message was boomed through the length and breadth of the fairgrounds. They recorded and repeated it at intervals through the evening. There was no way anyone could miss this announcement.

                                   They heard this all over the Fair. In response, they expected to hear from Annie soon. Hopefully, they clutched each other and sat at the office.

                                   On the other side, Annie and that Good Samaritan lady were sitting in a cafe. Loud pop music was blaring out from the speakers there. They could not hear the announcement for Annie. They could hardly hear each other speak. By the time they came out, the announcements were over. They moved slowly and the lady was desperately trying to find out the names of Annie's parents.

                                   After waiting for two hours without any response, Grace and Rick started fearing for the safety of their child. Grace voiced their concerns, "Do you think Rick, that someone has kidnapped little Annie? What for? We are not rich to pay a ransom for her. Or did the child traffickers take her up to sell her in the dark market?"

                                   Rick was trying to shush her but he too was thinking in those lines. The darkness deepened. The kind fair officers brought them some food as they continued to wait for their daughter. Soon it was time to close the fair office. Grace collapsed in the arms of Rick, sobbing incessantly, "Annie, Annie, where are you, my dear?"

                                    Trying to comfort Grace was almost impossible for Rick. He was trying his best, however.

                                    The lady who helped Annie had her hands full. She was thinking, "What should I do with this little girl now?" She had managed to feed her and give her something to drink. But Annie kept on sobbing for her Mom and Dad. Suddenly she had a flash. A brilliant idea. Why don't I go to the Fairground office and enquire about Annie's parents?

                                    She marched Annie and went to the office. It was closing and Rick and Grace were coming out. They and Annie spotted each other and ran towards each other. Annie leaped and jumped into the arms of Grace and they both started crying loudly. The lady who brought Annie spoke to Rick,

                                   "Are you little Annie's parents? She was with me for a while. She was desperate and crying so I looked after her for a while."

                               "We were waiting for her for hours now. Didn't you hear the announcement?"

                              "What announcement? We were sitting in a cafe and there was loud music there so we didn't hear anything."

                               "I kept announcing and asking the public for Annie through the PA system. I thought you heard it and came here."

                                   "Oh! Is it so? I actually got a flash of this idea that you people might be here and came. Thank God you people met. Otherwise, the little girl would have collapsed with fright."

                                   "My wife Grace also was on the verge of a collapse. Thank you very much for the help you gave Annie, Miss.. er"

                                "My name is Barbara. It was the least I could do for her. I teach little kids in our Church Sunday School. Am familiar with them." she said.

                                   By this time Grace and Annie recovered and were grinning from ear to ear. Annie trilled, "Mommie, this kind lady helped me a lot. She fed me and made me drink Pop. Thank you, Miss."

                                   Touched by her gratitude, Barbara replied, "Call me Barbie dear Annie. I am so happy that you could find your parents. God only helped us find them."

                                   Rick bustled them all, "Let's go and celebrate! Barbara, you too come. We will all go to the restaurant and eat our dinner together. We are extremely grateful to you."

                                   Annie, Grace, Barbara were all smiles as Rick took their picture. They ordered their favorite dishes at the restaurant. As they sat waiting for the food, Barbara said, "We ought to thank the Lord for helping this come to a happy end. Shall I pray?"

                                   "Heavenly Father, Thank you for guiding Annie and Grace and Rick to find each other. You guard and guide and keep us safe all through the day and night, Lord. Thank you. We praise and laud your Name! In Jesus' Name,"

                                   All of them said "Amen" together. They found that the waitress who brought their food also joined them in the prayer. The sweet aroma of freshly baked treats wafted into their nostrils as she started serving them.