October is for scary stories-not spooky but genuinely scary. The stories this month are definitely ones where the people involved were scared. Read on.
Both of my girls were born while we were living in the country. We were twenty-five minutes from the west side of Middletown which was where we worked and shopped and the girls went to school. One day I was at home with the girls who were either ten and nine years old or eleven and ten years old. My oldest asked. if she could go ride her bike. I was hesitant (because I knew how I drove on country roads) but I said yes. I got her all set up with her helmet and lots of instructions about being safe.
Later, I realized that she wasn’t home yet. It had been too long and I started to worry. I tried to stay calm. I asked her younger sister when she left-“I don’t know.” I called my husband and he left work and drove the nearby country roads in search of her. I did not call my parents. I didn’t want to upset them. If we found her they would be none the wiser. If it became a missing child situation I would definitely let them know. I called the sheriff and they asked a lot of questions and told me what to do next.
Eventually I did call my parents. My dad was home and he answered. I told him the situation and he casually said, “Oh, she’s here. I thought it was really cool that she rode her bike over here to visit.” I could have gone through the phone and strangled him! I didn’t go to my parent’s unless I told them I was coming over. I would NEVER let my young daughter ride her bike over without telling them!
Besides the hilly, single lane country roads my daughter traveled, she rode her bike on two, two lane highways for a total of 6.8 miles from our house to my parent’s house. She was fine. My dad got a talking to, my daughter got a talking to, we called the sheriff and let them know she was home and safe. In the end, it’s a cool story but behind it was a whole lot of genuine fear!
