“Guys, I have to go use the bathroom,” I said as I got up from the table.

We had been sitting down for a while so I thought it would be fine to go. I glanced over the table and it seemed everyone was fine with me excusing myself. Aurora seemed slightly annoyed since we had just finished discussing something, though she didn’t protest.

Right as I was about to leave though, someone spoke up.

“I actually have to use the bathroom too. Can I come with you?” She asked politely.

“Yeah, of course.”

Then Soriel got up from her seat and walked to my side.

Once we were side by side, we began walking around the park to find the restrooms.

While we walked, we started to talk about our time with the others.

“Which ride was your favorite, Elliot?” Soriel asked.

“Probably the ride that Nishimoya picked. But all of them made me feel like I’d pass out. What about you? What ride was your favorite?” I replied.

“My favorite was the big roller coaster I went on by myself. Although I’m a tiny bit disappointed none of you wanted to come on it with me,” she said humorously.

“With all due respect, I’d like to live to see tomorrow.”

Right after I said that, I noticed a sign that pointed to the corner.

When we looked over there, we finally found the restrooms.

That’s when we went our separate ways.

Soriel ended up finishing before me so by the time I exited the bathroom, I saw her outside.

However, she was talking to someone that surprised me.

‘Is that a kid?’

In front of Soriel, who was crouching down, was a child that looked no older than 8 years old.

“What’s going on?” I asked, clearly confused.

Soriel noticed my presence and turned her head to me.

“This child got separated from their parents and doesn’t know where they went.”

‘Poor kid.’

I took a closer look at the kid.

He was a boy with tan skin and short curly black hair.

Most importantly, the boy looked quite distressed.

“Shouldn’t we drop him off with the park officials?” I suggested.

“Not yet. From what he’s told me, he hasn’t been separated from his parents long. We should try to see if they’re nearby before we stray too far from here,” Soriel replied.

Soriel then looked back to the kid and smiled softly.

“Don’t worry, everything will be okay. We’ll find your mommy and daddy. You just have to stay brave. Can you do that for me?” She said calmly.

The boy nodded and even tried forcing a smile.

‘She’s really good at reassuring people. I wish I had that kind of skill. ’

Then, we began looking for the kid’s parents.

We asked food vendors, staff, and the people who passed by.

The boy had given us a short description of how his parents looked, so we had a vague idea of what to look for.

Still, we were having a lot of trouble finding them.

After a while, Soriel forced the kid and I to sit on a bench and wait for her to bring the parents to him.

I tried protesting, but she said that we can’t move too far from the original spot. 

I asked why I couldn’t go instead and she basically told me it’d be a good workout for her.

So just like that, I ended up alone with the kid.

For a little bit, there was nothing but an awkward silence between us.

‘I thought being around a kid like this wouldn’t be that hard because of my little brother, but this sucks.’

Eventually though, the boy spoke up when he couldn’t take the silence anymore.

“Um…sir?” he said softly.

“Yeah what’s up?” I replied.

“A-are you upset by something?” The boy asked nervously.

I raised an eyebrow.

“Not at all. Why?” I answered calmly.

‘Upset…? Why would I be upset?’

“It’s just that…you look upset. Or maybe mad. Not at me or the nice lady. But you don’t look happy.”

Hearing that, I slightly frowned.

‘I look unhappy? What would I be mad or upset about? Who would I be…’

Just as I thought about the kid’s words, I noticed Soriel approaching with two individuals.

Both of which looked like young adults.

“My baby! I’m so happy you’re okay!” The female individual exclaimed with relief.

The woman picked up the boy and hugged him, while the man with her looked at the boy with a cheerful smile.

I could tell just by looking at them, that they were the boy’s parents.

The man looked at both Soriel and I and spoke.

“Thank you so much for bringing our child back to us.”

“Of course, it was no problem at all,” Soriel replied back.

After that, Soriel and I left to go back to the group together.

“Why didn’t you just leave the kid with the park officials? It would’ve been easier,” I said on the way back.

“I told you why already. Also, I don’t think I would’ve been able to relax if I didn’t know for sure that the boy was safe,” She replied.

“That’s awfully nice of you,” I said.

“Really? I just want to help everyone with every chance I get. You’re the same way right? That’s why you decided to help me find the boy’s parents.”

Her words made me raise my eyebrow slightly.

“Nah, you give me too much credit. I just followed along with whatever you were doing,” I responded as I looked intently at a funnel cake I saw.

“Following or not, you still helped.”

Once Soriel said that, both of us went silent for the rest of the walk back.

Not an awkward silence like with the boy though.

It was a peaceful silence.

A comfortable one.