The Parent Trap

Case of the Missing Kids

It was a bright spring morning that Agnetha had awoken to with the bright sunlight spilling into her room. It was just another morning of waking up to Christian's cry.

She wanted to turn and tap on Björn's shoulder to have him check on Christian, but Björn no longer shared her bed. He shared a bed in his home, with his new love.

It was too soon for Agnetha to tire herself of her heartache when she was barely even awake. She got out of bed and immediately went into Christian's room to pick him up. Her three year old son had stopped crying the moment he was picked up by his mother. He had felt her warmth and security and his tears came to an end.

"Shh... Darling, mommy's here," she whispered to calm him. "Better now? Good morning, my love." She kissed his head. He nodded to her and hugged her.

She checked on her daughter Linda, who was also awake and playing with her toys already. She greeted both children and set them down together.

"Won't you come downstairs with your toys, dear, I can make breakfast for us to eat," Linda didn't respond, but she looked at her mother.

"Okay," she had finally said at last. Christian took a toy of his and Linda grabbed two of hers. Agnetha helped her children down the stairs and allowed them to play in the space of their living room as she usually does.

For twenty minutes, Agnetha was in the kitchen preparing breakfast with teas for them to drink. She had made eggs, cut up a few slices of ham, some bread, jam, and cheese.

Once everything was set to be eaten she went to grab the children. She went into the living room once again, but only found toys and no children.

"Linda? Christian? Breakfast is ready!" She called out, she peeped her head up the stairs but heard no sounds of children. Not a single sound. She wandered through the house in search. "Okay you two, this is no time for hide and seek. The food will be cold."

She spun around in circles searching for them but couldn't find them. Five minutes later she began to panic. These are two children. A toddler, a child– somehow both had gone missing when she should have been watching them. She looked out in the garden but couldn't find them there. She searched upstairs in the rooms and couldn't find them there either. These two children had vanished.

They're not home, she thought. They're gone. The threats of someone kidnapping her children had come back to haunt her. Maybe the threats were true. Maybe it wasn't a joke. Her heart sunk deep, weighed down with fear and worry.

She ran to the phone, her tears spilling, without knowing what she was going to do. She dialed her ex-husband when she no longer could look for them. It was now fifteen minutes of searching in an empty house.

"Hello?"

"Björn. It's me," she tried to be calm, to not freak him out. "You didn't happen to swing by here and take the kids... spontaneously, did you?"

"What? Why do you think I would do that?"

"Just answer me, damn it."

"No, I haven't. Why– Don't tell me you..."

"Björn, I can't find them anywhere," she cried. "I was making breakfast and they were playi–"

"I'm coming, hold on."

During that seven minute ride to her house, Björn was thinking how Agnetha could possibly have lost the children. How hard is it to look after a talking child and a seven year old? He wondered where they could be hiding, where they could be walking to.

As she waited for him to come, Agnetha searched the house again, but there wasn't a child in sight.

"How did this happen, Agnetha?!"