Recognition
His heart began beating faster as he considered the possibility of the girl in front of him being underaged. His newsfeeds had been flooded with countless stories about children who were in danger.
However, he also knew about the stories of children causing trouble all over his neighborhood. Whatever this girl’s story was, he hoped that she fell in none of the groups. He had no clue what was about to happen next.
A Day In The Life
When Hunter learned that he was up for a promotion, he couldn’t believe his luck. He prided himself in his work ethic, and it was about time that it paid off.
He started the job nearly a year ago while trying to support his family and get through school. He was very well accomplished. His future at the store was clouded with mystery and terror.
Just Doing His Job
Hunter’s day-to-day life always followed the same routine. Before heading out to the university, he would share a meal with his girlfriend and daughter.
Once classes concluded, he would go to work until later that evening. Going back home to his lovely family was his favorite time of day. He lived a good life, and he was thankful for it. However, everything would soon change.
The Perfect Start
The occurrence that changed his life came unexpectedly. One of Hunter’s responsibilities as a manager included walking around the store to ensure everything was running smoothly.
He was a creature of habit and preferred to walk the same route every day. He always made an effort to lend a hand if necessary, regardless if they were employees or staff members. During one of his routine walks, he encountered the mysterious girl.
Readying Himself
Hunter had a great start to his morning. He shared a lovely morning with his family, and classes were a breeze. He managed to clock in for work at noon. He felt optimistic about his day.
However, even though he had a great start to his day, things would soon turn sour. Hunter had never been one to believe in superstitions, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong.
Acting Suspiciously
As soon as Hunter arrived at the store, he readied himself to do his daily patrol. He made some small talk with his coworker before going through his tasks of the day.
When he got his ducks in a row, he started his patrol. Not even fifteen minutes into the patrol he spotted something that made him do a double take.
Consulting The Footage
He spotted a young girl wandering around the dairy aisles. She appeared to be confused and all over the place. She wore old jeans and a hoodie that seemed too large for her. However, Hunter knew he couldn’t make any snap judgments about somebody he’s never met.
Something else felt off about the whole ordeal, so he walked back to his office to review the security footage. He was not prepared for what he would find.
Where Did She Belong?
The footage showed Hunter that the young girl had been up and down the aisles, for nearly two hours. She appeared lost and somehow found herself stopping in front of the milk aisles. Additionally, she appeared to be doing something suspiciously as she scanned her surroundings.
Hunter prayed that she wasn’t up to any trouble. He knew that he needed to approach her. She initially appeared to be an adult, however, as he got closer, he realized she was much younger. He needed to approach this situation with caution.
Unpredictable Behavior
Hunter soon realized that the girl could possibly be a minor. His mind started going crazy with possibilities. The number of stories he had heard of children in danger was terrifying.
However, some children in the neighborhood purposefully cause trouble at local businesses. He didn’t want this young girl to fall into either of these categories. He didn’t know what was about to unfold.
She’s Uneasy
As he got closer to the young girl, he noticed her stuffed backpack. She was scanning through the rows of milk before eventually deciding on one. However, she didn’t place it in the cart.
She momentarily scanned her surroundings when she spotted Hunter. She stopped in her tracks as Hunter neared her. The girl managed to remain composed as she placed the carton back.
Checking The Bag
The girl stepped away from the shelf, turning around as fast as possible. But Hunter dashed to her before she walked away, asking her to stop.
The girl turned around, looking up at Hunter with interest. He didn’t want to ask her what was in her bag, but he knew he had no choice. If someone acted suspiciously in the store, it fell to him to get to the root of it. Maybe they were in danger – or the danger themselves.
What’s In The Backpack?
Hunter introduced himself to the girl, asking her to accompany him to his office. He hoped to at least search her bag in private, so the public wouldn’t harass her with cameras and the like.
The girl agreed to the offer, but instead of following Hunter, she opened her bag before him. What he saw inside made his brows furrow. Was it a joke?
Help Her
The girl held her bag up to Hunter. Inside, there were several tattered textbooks. There were notebooks and pens as well.
But as Hunter returned the bag, smiling as he was glad the girl wasn’t engaging in any illegal activities, she asked him something that set the alarm bells right off again.
The Note
“I need help,” the girl said, her voice a whisper as if she wasn’t sure if talking to Hunter was the right thing to do. “What is it?” Hunter asked as he walked the girl away from the aisle.
He could see the worry in her eyes. She slung her backpack off her shoulder, opened a side pocket with shaking fingers, and pulled out a worn and folded piece of cardboard.
The Milk Carton
The girl slipped Hunter the note, turned around, and walked away. Hunter’s eyes widened when he saw a cardboard cutout of a photo with the words ‘Call 911’ and an address written on the back.
Hunter spun around to ask her what was going on, but she was already gone. A fleeting thought passed through his mind as he thought that this must be some kind of practical joke. But then, he saw it.
Ruby Larsen
Hunter saw the milk carton that the nervous girl had picked up and put back on the shelf – it was jutting out among the other cartons so it looked out of place.
She’d also turned the carton around so Hunter could clearly see the photo on its side. It was a black and white photo of a young girl – no older than three. And It was the same photo she had just slipped into his hand. There was something about the girl’s eyes staring back at him that turned his blood to ice.
Growing Up In Isolation
The teen girl was 17-year-old Ruby Larsen. She had her world turned upside down when she spotted her own face on a milk carton when she was just 10 years old.
It was that photo that made her suspect she was living a giant lie and eventually seek help. After years, she’d finally realized the truth and worked up the courage to approach someone about her unbelievable situation.
Island Living
Ruby wasn’t an unusual child – she loved to play and was naturally curious about the world around her from a young age. However, Ruby hadn’t been brought up like other kids.
Despite the fact that Ruby had never been to school or socialized with other kids her age, she had no idea how different her upbringing really was. That was until one fateful day, more than a decade later.
Moving To Arkansas
Ruby lived with her parents in Hawaii on the tiny, isolated island of Saipan. The island had a small population of around 60,000 – in fact, many people outside Hawaii were oblivious to the island’s existence.
Ruby was never allowed to go outside, and she was home-schooled. Nevertheless, she trusted her parents and had no idea what she was missing.
The Grocery Store
After living on the island during her formative years, Ruby and her parents moved to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The little girl loved the town, even though it was very different from the basic life she had grown to know.
She still wasn’t allowed to interact with the outside world much, but there was one place she was allowed to go.
A Life-Changing Discovery
On rare occasions, Ruby was allowed to go to the grocery store with her parents. She loved the colorful aisles of produce and all the eye-catching packaging.
On one such occasion, when she was 10 years old, she was in the cool refrigeration section looking at the yogurts, ice cream, and dairy cartons when something happened to catch her eye.
Her Own Face
As Ruby was taking in all the sights of the dairy section and enjoying the refreshing, cool relief from the outside heat, her eyes were inexplicably drawn to one particular milk carton.
At first, Ruby was enamored with the girl in the black-and-white photo who stared straight back at her from the carton, but she wasn’t sure why.
Her Secret Treasure
The girl in the photo was much younger than Ruby – she must have been around three years old. But, the longer Ruby stared, the more she began to recognize her.
Suddenly, it dawned on her that she was staring at a younger version of herself. Mesmerized, she waited for her father to come over to the dairy aisle, hoping he would be as delighted as she was. Puzzlingly, all he did was buy the milk carton for her. He didn’t say a word.
Turning Her Life Upside Down
Ruby’s father made her promise not to show anyone the milk carton – not even her mother. Her father cut the photo out for her and she loyally kept it a secret, but took it everywhere with her.
But as she grew older and entered her teenage years, the uneasy feeling that started out as mild curiosity grew into a terrible gnawing in the pit of her stomach. She knew something wasn’t right.
A Terrible Realization
When she turned 17, Ruby was occasionally allowed to go to the grocery store on her own. On that fateful day, she watched everything she thought to be the truth turn upside down, shaking the world she once knew.
All it took was that one visit to the grocery store for her to suddenly question everything and everyone she trusted in her life.
Working Up The Courage
Wandering into the dairy aisle, Ruby found herself speechless when she saw her own face staring back at her on a milk carton with one word written in bold: ‘Missing.’
It was the same photo she had in her backpack. After all those years of keeping the photo a secret, the truth felt like a punch in the gut.
Changing Her Mind
Ruby found herself wandering up and down the grocery aisles for hours, deliberating about her next course of action. Her palms were sweaty and her heart raced when she pulled the secret photo out her backpack and wrote on the back.
She didn’t have the courage to give it to anyone in the store, so she planned to leave it in front of the milk cartons where someone would spot it. But she changed her mind.
The Manager Approaches
A long-forgotten memory had surfaced as Ruby paced down the aisles. She had never remembered much about her early childhood, but there was something there.
But Ruby couldn’t go through with it. She slipped the photo back into her backpack. She knew that there would be huge repercussions for her actions at home – and what if she was wrong? But then, a man approached and made the decision for her.
Calling The Police
A man walked toward her as she was staring at the milk carton in her hands again, so she quickly put it back on the shelf. From an outsider’s perspective, she knew she must be behaving suspiciously.
She knew what he was thinking and quickly slung her backpack off her shoulder and opened it to prove she wasn’t shoplifting. But there was something about the man’s eyes that made her decide to give him the photo.
The Truth
After turning to see that the girl was gone, Hunter called the police without a second thought and gave them the address on the back of Ruby’s photo.
Ruby’s “parents” were promptly arrested, and the police were able to track down her biological father. She was right – she had been lied to for most of her life.
It happened when Ruby was just three years old. Her parents were embroiled in a bitter custody dispute when her mother refused to obey the court ruling and fled with her child.
After 14 years of living with her mother and stepfather, Ruby was reunited with her biological dad – all because of a twist of fate and Hunter’s gut feeling