My Parents Left Me At The Rest Area

During the New Year’s, on the highway back home to our hometown, my younger brother pestered us to stop for a bathroom break.

My mother nudged both my older sister and me.

“The next rest stop is quite far from here. You should head to the washroom; otherwise, you’ll regret it later.

“Be quick; don’t dilly-dally!”

Just as I jumped out, my family’s car pulled away and started driving away. The temperature was close to the freezing point, but my parents left me behind at an unmanned rest stop.

I could only rush over and yell after them, “Dad! Mom!”

I was the middle child, and I was basically invisible to my entire family.

My parents marked down the birthdays of my older sister, Mandy Smith, and my younger brother, Matthew Smith, on their calendars. However, they could never remember my birthday.

Mandy and Matthew always had new dresses and new suits to wear, but my parents always forgot to buy new clothes for me.

Mandy and Matthew always had birthday presents, but my parents never bought presents for me.

When we went back to our hometown for the New Year, my parents once again forgot about me and left me behind in an unmanned rest stop in the freezing weather…

When I got out of the rest stop washroom, I saw Mandy and Matthew enter the car. I was about to follow them when I saw the car start to drive away.

I immediately ran behind the car and yelled, “Dad! Mom! I’m not in the car yet!”

But the car very quickly drove onto the busy highway. It then disappeared from my field of vision.

I looked in the direction of where the car went. My lips trembled as I kept mumbling, “Dad, mom, I’m not in the car yet…”

My voice was very faint, as if broken by the cold wind the moment it reached my lips. It vaguely echoed in the empty rest stop. The next second, what was left of my shock and fear was replaced by a cold, numbing sensation.

I slowly shifted my gaze away and looked at my surroundings.

The huge rest stop was eerily silent.

Under the dim streetlight, the entire sky was white. I did not see a single soul around.

On the nearby highway, the cars were driving past. The car lights blurred into a long strip of light, but not a single car stopped for me. I did not dare to move. It was as if my feet were nailed to the ground. I was still harboring a sliver of hope. Maybe my parents would soon realize that I was not in the car, and they would immediately turn around to look for me.

I grabbed the corner of my clothes and stared at the intersection where the car drove away, as I hoped again and again for the familiar white car to reappear.

It was getting even colder. I could feel the coldness seeping into my bones. I was freezing from the inside out. My toes were already numbed from the cold, and I slowly lost feelings in them. My face was red and painful from the wind. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I did not dare to cry.

I knew that even if I cried, no one would come and comfort me.

I really could not stand the piercingly cold wind, so I turned around and walked back toward the washroom where I would at least be sheltered from the freezing temperature. In the quiet washroom, I could only hear my soft breathing and the wind blowing.

The sadness that I had suppressed on purpose suddenly broke and overwhelmed me like a falling dam. I recalled my birthday last year. My entire family had forgotten about it. My mother only remembered my birthday three days later when she looked at the calendar and quickly made a bowl of pasta with some cheese on top.

“This is to make up for your birthday. Quick, eat it.”

She was watching TV when she said that.

However, for Mandy’s birthday, all of us went to her favorite theme park. On her birthday cake, it was written that she was our pride. Matthew’s birthday was even more extravagant. My parents invited the entire kindergarten class, and he received a lot of presents.

Ever since she was a kid, Mandy was praised for being mature, and Matthew was doted on as a goofball.

What about me?

“Myra is a good kid. She doesn’t make a fuss.”

That was my label. My presence was like a faint design on a wallpaper. I existed, but no one cared about me.

I did not know how long I was in the washroom. I slowly felt the warmth leaving my body. Just when I was about to lose consciousness from the cold, I heard soft footsteps coming from the entrance. My heart skipped a beat, and I immediately perked up, staring intensely at the door.

Was that my mother?

Did she finally realize that I was not in the car and turned around to find me?

The door creaked open.

However, it was an unfamiliar older lady dressed in a puffer jacket who walked in.

The light in my eyes went out. I smiled wryly. I had expected too much.

When the lady saw me, she was obviously stunned.

It was probably because she had not expected to see a young girl alone in a rest stop washroom located in such a remote area.