the blue jacket

Remember that time? Yes you! Do you remember when you were at that theme park? Or was it a mall on Black Friday? Or that hike on the beautiful fall day where the wind had a sharp edge and the leaves were just a bit more colorful than normal? When you went with your family on a fun adventure? It seems like a distant memory but when you bring it to the forefront of your mind you are there again. The feelings are vivid, everything crystal clear in your mind. It seemed like any other day it always does. You got ready as you normally would, brushing your teeth, getting dressed. Then your mom, or was it that one aunt, your grandma maybe, came in and asked if you wanted to go out. Sure, why not? you said to yourself. After all, what's the worst that could happen? Little did you know when you agreed what would happen. 
After everyone finished getting ready, you hopped in the car, nothing out of the ordinary… yet. Once you got there you noticed how busy it was, abnormally busy. The people had nothing suspicious about them, so why should you worry? You and the small number of people you came with, cousins, or maybe it was your siblings, got out of the car. You strolled around leisurely, just joking and having a good time. You observed what’s around you. Your surroundings were bustling and interesting. You walked with your people and a growing daze came over you. You started to lose yourself in your loud surroundings. You kept moving, you didn’t want to get lost. Oh no, now that would be horrible. You snapped back to your senses, but there was that nagging feeling to get lost in the noise again. You pushed it away just in time to catch up to your group. Thank goodness you snapped back. They were almost lost into the abyss of the crowd, seemingly growing larger all around you. You managed to stay out of your mind, to fight the growing temptation to lose yourself to the noise. 
No. Snap out of it. You need to keep up. Your cousin, your sister, your uncle, reached over, 
“Are you all right?” You nod your head and plaster on a smile. 
A bit tired, yep that makes sense.
“I’m just a bit tired but I’m fine.” 
Your smile returns, reassuring and bright. They smile and squeeze your hand before going back to the conversation. 
After a brief break, lunch or maybe a game, you get that feeling again. What’s the harm? It’s just noise. You let the daze come, the satisfaction washes over you like waves on a seashell. Keep walking, I can’t get lost, you remind yourself. Everything seems so interesting, the snippets of other people’s conversations. 
Who is Jim anyway? Why did he make those people mad? You giggle as silly reasons come to mind. Your time in your head, just enjoying your surroundings, never causes your pace to falter. You bring your eyes forward expecting to see that blue jacket of your little brother, of your grandfather. When the gray sweatshirt of a stranger is what you see, concern plants its seed in your stomach. Don’t worry, they haven’t gone far. You're very optimistic. How wrong you are. You look around checking anywhere they could have stopped. They’re probably looking for me too, I should get back to where I was before. Oh yes! That’s a good idea, but where exactly was that? The concern grows to panic. Suddenly the noise all around you isn’t alluring, it's frightful. It’s the reason you're in this mess and now it’s the reason you can’t get out. What if they forget about me? The possibility seems all too real now. The tears pricking your eyes make it harder to look for them. You start to breathe heavily when you feel a hand on your shoulder. The tears have made it too blurry to make out faces, but you can recognize that blue jacket.