Key Words: gut feeling / had to
Text:
"It all started the day before. I was waiting in line at El Djidjli to buy a chicken panini for lunch when I saw these two sketchy guys. They were not from here it was clear. I know most people in this town and I don't know, I can tell when people are not from here. It's the attitude, they way they move, the way they carry themselves, something, I don't know, I just know it. I hadn't even heard them speak by then. Later, I heard their accent but at that moment I just saw them walking around. They were looking closely at every parked car. I thought I saw one of them taking a picture of a license plate but I wasn't sure. My lunch break was over and I had to go back to the office. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was up. It was a slow day at the office. We don't get many customers in the Winter. That's okay. It's our slow season. Our busy season is in Spring. Anyways, I wish I had done something that day. I wish I had told someone, the cops, the neighbour, anyone. I didn't. The next day, in the morning, I noticed the same two guys by Kaokao Park. I was driving. When I stopped at the red light I looked into the rearview mirror and I saw that there was a child with them. The blood in my viens turned into ice. I can't explain. It was an animal instinct in me. I remembered that the car that was parked by El Djidjli, yesterday, had stickers on it. The stickers were a family stick figures and a baby on board sign. The light turned green and I had to drive. Something was up. I just knew it. I have children myself and since I became a mom I scan the environment nonstop. I turned the car around and went to the park. I had the courage to call the cops this time. I entered the park and looked for them but they had vanished. I walked around the woods, looking left and right, expecting to see them behind every tree, until I saw them. One of them, the tall one started running towards me. To say that I was scared is an understatement. I ran as fast as I could but he caught up with me. He grabbed me by the hair and I screamed at the top of my lungs. He was dragging me when we heard a loud voice yelling "let her go". We both looked around, it was a police officer. He was running towards us. Another police officer came from the other side. The tall guy let go of me and he tried to escape but the cop caught him. This is the craziest thing that ever happened to me. The police officer took me to the station and after I recovered from the scare he told me that the two men were trying to kidnap the little girl but my call saved her. I couldn't believe my ears. I was so proud of myself but so horrified and the same time. I am still in shock to this day. I was right. My instincts were right. I am glad I followed my gut feeling. There was an article about me in the local newspaper and many social media pages talked about me too. Since that day, I decided to always listen to my instincts."