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The Missing Child

Jilali El Koudia

It was the first time they were seen walking out alone since they had their first child. As the husband's sister, a young girl of twelve or so, had come on a visit, they seized the opportunity to take a walk by themselves entrusting their daughter to her young aunt.
     Out of their street, they took a short road that ended at the borderline between the city and the fields stretching out westward. A mild breeze carried the smell of vegetation that aroused a deep feeling in them; they followed a narrow path seeking peace and quiet as they used to do before the birth.
     Nevertheless, as soon as they advanced a few steps a tense feeling crept over them and they started hesitating. Was it that they had lost the habit of walking alone without their young companion? Or had that spring air awakened something in them that made them feel awkward? At any rate, in a few minutes they were seen retracing their way back home almost in a rush.
     They saw the husband's sister standing just outside the door looking with anxious eyes in all directions. Where was the child? The girl said she had gone into the kitchen for a glass of water when she realized the child was there no more. Immediately the couple started walking up and down the street looking for the missing daughter.
     The guardian came running to join them. He asked:
     "Are you looking for your daughter?"
     "Yes, have you seen her?"
     "No, I haven't. In fact I have just arrived."
     Disappointed, the husband whispered to his wife: "This guardian is always drunk. He is absurd."
     They ignored him and went on searching everywhere in the neighborhood, but no one had seen a child alone. When they reached the long road that separated their residential area from the city, they stopped to consider their next move. After some consultation, the wife proposed that she should cross the road over and wait for him at the bus stop opposite while he went back to the house to check again.
     He walked back home without the slightest conviction that he would find her there. He should not have listened to his wife and waste more time. They should have reported the missing child to the nearest police station. As soon as he turned into his street, he saw the child standing at the door with his sister looking out for them. He was so excited by the surprise that he didn't even ask his sister where she had found her. He immediately carried the child in his arms and walked back to where he had left his wife waiting.
     Across the road, the bus stop seemed far away but not quite invisible. He was able to discern the figures of three women wearing the same color as his wife, but he couldn't make out which one was his wife, and so he tentatively raised his hand and waved it in their direction. They all responded and started moving forward to meet him. They argued among themselves and pushed each other aside to get to him. He instinctively shifted the child onto his chest as if to shield himself against them. As he drew closer to the women they too noticed he was carrying a child, fell back to their former positions, and ignored him, trying to regain some of their dignity. He realized that his wife wasn't among them and felt a bit embarrassed and confused.
     He looked everywhere nearby, asked a few passers-by but in vain. There was no trace of his wife and so he had to go on and on following a network of streets and a forest of buildings. After some time and when he felt tired, he decided to take the child back home in order to walk lighter and faster in search of his missing wife.
     He left the daughter with his sister, locked the door behind him, making sure this time she wouldn't slip out. He took the same road and again headed where she had said she would be waiting for him. When he approached the bus stop, the image of the three suspicious women and their shameful behavior made him eschew the spot. Looking from the corner of his eye all he could glimpse was the shadow of a single woman left. He sensed her insisting eyes on him and he walked farther and faster. She called out to him, but he pretended he didn't hear her. Then the woman ran after him and finally caught up with him. Grabbing him by the arm, she asked furiously: "Why are you behaving this way? You can't do this to me. We have both lost our child, haven't we?"
     Surprised, he said: "Where were you a while ago?"
     "I was just in the next street. I thought I had seen a child, but it wasn't her. Why are you ignoring me?"
     "I thought you were one of them."
     "Who are you talking about? Please, this is not the time to lose your senses. We must find the child."
     "I found her, she's in the house."
     "Did you?"
     "This is confusing me. Let's go home first."
     They passed by the cabin of the guardian and heard him laughing to himself. As they turned in their street the first sight that met their eyes was the young aunt aimlessly running up and down and shouting the name of the child.

Copyright © 2010 by San Diego State University.

Authors of individual works retain copyright, with the restriction that subsequent publication of any text be accompanied by notice of prior publication in Fiction International.