By Alex
So, we were shopping for warm clothes at a place called Uniqlo in Sapporo. I was on the seventh floor of a shopping center. Then Popo and I went to the bathroom. I heard Popo leave the bathroom and I was still using it. I decided to clean the toilet seat with disinfectant when I was done for some random reason. (Japanese toilets are very clean and special with all kinds of functions like heated seat, butt water spray and dryer.) I stayed at the toilet for about five minutes, and then left it eventually. When I came out I saw that everyone was no longer sitting in the place they were when I left. I went upstairs to the next floor of Uniqlo and searched around the area. I could not see anyone that I could recognize. I decided to search even further. I went downstairs to the sixth floor yet I still could not find anyone. I started to become frantic. Had they left me? Were they on their way back to the hotel? Did they notice I was gone?
I remembered that before we flew to Japan my mom had given me an AirTag so she would not lose me. I stared at the AirTag for a good five minutes. It was not beeping. I thought, maybe it was broken! I became super scared and decided it was time for me to talk to the front desk about the issue. Unfortunately, no one spoke English. I tried explaining the problem several times and eventually they understood. They asked me to check the toilet and I explained that I had just been in there. She called another shopkeeper to come over. They were speaking to each other in Japanese as if they were trying to solve this problem. I saw one shopkeeper call somebody on the phone. Soon another person came and another, they said that they have called security to search the floors. I felt like crying. Was I going to be lost forever?
Just at that moment a random lady came bursting in and said that she saw my family on the third floor. I rushed down with the woman. I saw Auntie Elkie, Arabella and Azania. I hugged all of them and said “YOU LEFT MEEEE!!!!”
I cried so hard and told them what happened. They said that they were sorry and thought I was following them. Arabella led me to where mama was and I jumped on top of her and said “YOUUU LEFTT MEEE! I WAS SOOO SCAREDDD!!!!” Everyone said that they did not even notice that I was gone.
I will never forget that day.