I’m engulfed in a warm plush sweater. As my mom gradually lowers to the ground she releases me from her grip. As I look around me I realize where I’m at.
“The museum!” I yell out in joy. She laughs softly and then reaches into her pale leather purse. My eyes widen with excitement as I reach out to grab Bear Bear. My small fingers tightly wrap around his body. Wobbling over to my mom, I reach for her leg and hug it. After a moment, I spin around and head to the Outer Space exhibit. I walk into a small room with tin foil walls and bright spotlights of all different colors. Seeing other kids inhabiting the space, I frown. All the seats are taken and the bin with astronaut suits is empty. What was the point of coming if I can’t even do anything?! I stomp my feet in frustration and walk through the door. Now I’m back in the large space with blue carpeting and tall people.
“Hello?” My voice is silent in the sea of sound. Maneuvering my way through the legs and shoes, it all begins to form a maze. I continue down the never ending rabbit hole until I spot something and stop dead in my tracks. I push away the stick-like legs that I was so hesitant to disturb before. Deep purple shoes with a white squishy bottom lay in front of me. These are mama’s, they have to be. I pull on the soft cloth on her leg and finally when I get her attention, she steps away.
“Mama?” I say in a dumbfounded tone. Why did she ignore me? With tears in my eyes, I stumble through the maze no longer caring which way I went. When I reach a small space in between two huge playhouses filled with strangers, I roll up into a ball and squeeze my eyes shut.
—
Bright flashing lights force my eyes to open. I roll over onto my knees and slowly get up. Clutching a cold rod barely keeping me upright, I look around and realize I’m back in the spaceship. This time it looks different. The room is desolate without a single other soul. The
lights are barely keeping lit and are flickering. My body, numb with fear, begins to shiver. I see unfamiliar hallways all seeming completely different to what the ship looks like. Terrified, I turn and look around. I realize that I am trapped, with no one else in this dark scary world. The lights flicker until they can’t withstand the cold anymore and shut off. I crouch down to the ground and fold my knees up to my chest. Warm water droplets slowly roll down my cold skin. Against my leg I feel a familiar texture. I remove a hand from my knee and pat around trying to find the object. Then I feel the fluffy, soft cloth and pull it toward me.
“Help me bear bear, I’m cold.”
“Sofia? Sofia dónde estás?” My mom’s voice is filled with fear. My eyes burst open and lights fill what once was the spaceship. I get up off the blue carpet and peak out of the little crevice. The infinite amount of long legs still haven’t gone away. Still tense with fear, I step out into the large space again but this time I don’t feel as helpless. Now I know my mom is looking for me. I go to where I heard her voice and look around. Suddenly I’m embraced from behind. Startled, I turn around and see a familiar face. Tears of relief run down both our faces.
“Mamá, where were you? Why did you ignore me?” I can’t hold back my sobs. “I was in the bathroom, bonita. I didn’t ignore you.” My mom furrows her brows, “what happened?” All I can do is cry in her arms. I realize that I never was alone, I always had my mom even when I didn’t see her. I let my imagination create an image of fear as a way to cope with real life when there was no need. Things might not always be as bad as I imagine.