Short story: Lost is never really, really lost / myLot

Australia

March 4, 2023 11:15pm CST

Freda, the mother of two young kids, was a stay-at-home mum. She'd been asked to accompany the children on their excursion to the zoo, but there was only one bus, full with students. No room for her, and some other mums. Freda's daughter's teacher had asked Freda to drive her own car, together with a couple of other mums, and to follow the bus to the zoo. Freda wasn't happy. She'd never driven through big city streets before. The zoo was on the other side of town. Freda drove to the school, parked her car, and watched the bus filling up. She didn't like the look of the young, rough-looking, bus driver. "I hope he doesn't drive too fast," she thought to herself. The teacher came up to Freda, "Don't worry. I've told the bus driver that you'll be following him. I told him not to drive too fast, to watch out for you, because you don't know the way. If he doesn't see you anymore, I told him to stop, and wait for a moment, until you've caught up." Initially, all went well. Freda followed the bus for twenty minutes, until they came to a large intersection. The lights changed to red just as they approached them. The bus sped up, and went through. Freda waited a long time for the lights to change. She was trying to see where the bus had gone. It had never stopped to wait. Five minutes later, she was through the lights, but the bus was nowhere to be seen. Freda was upset. She didn't want to let the other mothers know that she was lost. Suddenly, a large limousine passed. The personalised number plate said, "NOWHERE" "Yes," she thought to herself, "I am in nowhere land now." Anyway, something told her to follow this car. "What the heck," she thought, "It might be some dignitary going to the zoo." She followed it through the busy city streets. Finally, it stopped, and parked. One of the mothers, said to Freda, "Well, we're now here. Well done, Freed's." Freda's mind did a double take. "'NOW HERE,' why that's just a different way of pronouncing the plate number that I saw. How strange, I'm glad I followed that large car. I wonder who it was." Just then, a large man got out of this car, and Freda saw that it was her husband, the school principal, driving one of the school's cars. Jack, her husband said to her: "I knew that that young punk of a driver would lose you. I was hoping that you remembered my business number plate, as it seems that you did, as you followed me here." Freda smiled, and replied: "Well, all's well that ends well." Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com A day out at the zoo.

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3 responses

Go Crossbones

@crossbones27 (52907)

• Mojave, California

5 Mar 23

Irony is amazing thing and your brain is great at just getting feelings for such things like that. In National Guard and much easier because has camouflage trucks to follow, but what is funny on the way to do your two week deployment everyone is safe and follows the convoy. Its hard to get lost even though they like its California, all of you should know this. Its up north. Not many from Southern Cali Knows Northern Cali. Maybe that is what it was on way back. I am following convoy, where the hell is everyone? See a freaking racing camouflage pick up truck racing pass me, screw that we following them because I am not from LA or San Fran. I have no idea where anything is on this route, but brain tells me what ever it takes if you do not want to look like a fool and sure enough, in LA safe and sound even though made my co driver scared as hell at times.

I would have just asked her but she was being a snot from the start and I said, I can see where this is going. Now, maybe you will be less rude next time.

3 people like this

emptychair

@innertalks (23734)

• Australia

5 Mar 23

Yes, it is strange how we can get to our destination sometimes, even though we might appear hopelessly lost. My mother had a good sense of direction, and position. She often did not go the way that my father had planned for her to go, as she went another way, and invariably her sense of direction led her to the right place quicker than my Dad's carefully planned mapped out journey could have done. It did not stop him from abusing her along the way though, but she always drove on cheerfully, with a great faith, that she would find her way through the seemingly wrong turns that she had taken.

3 people like this

sense of direction

Go Crossbones

@crossbones27 (52907)

• Mojave, California

5 Mar 23

@innertalks That's the worse and I have seen that also, sorry brother and probably what saved me from living such a way but interesting tidbits of people not necessarily over coming a situation but making it through a situation while trying to show a better way. That is the stuff that hits you hard in life that you will never forget.

3 people like this

emptychair

@innertalks (23734)

• Australia

5 Mar 23

@crossbones27 Yes, there was one time when my father took me to the top of a high mountain, miles from our house, and he asked me in which direction from here, I thought that our house was in. I had my mother's sense of direction, and I immediately pointed in the right direction. My father, a bit put out by my getting it right, asked me how did I know that. I said to him that I just felt it, as I have a natural sense of direction. My father rubbished me, saying nobody, has that. You just fluked it. Never lie to me like that again, or I will whip your legs. Ever since that day, I lost that natural sense of direction, and I get lost so easily now, even in my dreams, I dream that I am always lost in some unknown part of a town. He destroyed a young boy's faith in himself, forever, on that day.

3 people like this

faith

sense of direction

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