Page 87 of Strum Me

Carrie runs up to me, her face is wet with a combination of sweat and tears. “He’s not over there. Oh my God. Where is he? He was just here, I swear. He wasn’t out of my eyesight for more than three seconds!”

“I know. Just, he’s here somewhere. I’m sure he is. You go over to that side and I’ll stay here in case he comes back, and try to get ahold of one of the crew. Get Hank or Hailey, they should be just over there.” I wave my hand in the direction of the huddle of our people watching the show.

I will myself to breathe. Each inhale stings like a swarm of bees in my lungs. But I tell myself I’ll pass out without it.

Where could he be? What if something’s happened to him, what if someone’s taken him?

The dread both sinks like a lead paperweight in my gut as well as rises the bile in my throat.

I spin, over and over, 360 degrees, 720, 1080, scanning every inch of the space around me, where Ben is supposed to be.

“Emily!” I hear someone call me.

“Hailey!”

“What’s happened?”

“We can’t find Ben!”

“Oh no! Okay, where did you guys see him last?”

“He was with Carrie and she said he saw me walk past and before she knew it he’d taken off. She followed but he wasn’t with me. WHERE IS HE, HAILEY? WHERE IS MY BOY?”

She grabs my shoulder. “Don’t worry, you stay here, I’m going to get some help. Just…just don’t go, he’ll probably pop up and you need to be here!”

In the background I can hear the band playing, but I can’t focus on what it is I’m hearing. It’s just noise and I’m trying to block it out in case Ben is calling for me. God, I wish I could hear his sweet voice right now.

Suddenly the music stops and the lights flash on.

It floods the crowd and the stage in a bright, bright light, I can almost see the lines and wrinkles on everyone’s faces around me.

There’s a stunned silence and then it’s like everyone’s speaking at once. The guys bunch up at the edge of the stage and then it’s Brad’s voice I can hear.

“Sorry, everyone! We’ve had to stop because we have a bit of a situation. There’s a lost child, his name is Ben, he’s about five years old, has one arm in a cast, and is wearing a Spider-Man T-shirt. Can everyone have a quick look around and see if he’s near you? Give us a yell if you see him. Come on guys, let’s all band together, okay? We don’t want to stop the show for any longer than we have to, but we’re not going to start up again until we find him. As you can imagine his mother’s a little distraught and frankly, we love the little dude too. Soooo…BEN ARE YOU OUT THERE? CAN YOU GIVE UNCLE BRAD A YELL SO I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE? Everyone else be quiet, please, unless you have him.”

The silence roars in my ears and I have to cover them until the white noise dissipates and I can focus on the sound.

There’s nothing.

I clasp my hands together and press them against my lips. A silent prayer is sent.

Please let my little boy be okay.

“Uncle BRAD! Uncle Brad! I’m here! It’s me, Benny!”

I twirl around in the direction of the sound, catching Carrie’s eye. She seems to have heard it too and it gives me hope that I’m not dreaming.

“Is that you, Benny Boy?” Brad booms into the mic, his voice mirroring the hope that’s rippling through me.

“Yes! I’m over here!”

A spotlight scans over the crowd and finally rests on a small blue-and-red clad figure. He’s waving with one hand, his good hand, as he skips toward the stage, everyone parting to make room for him. And behind him, Silas.

I run through the space in the crowd to catch up to them.

“I was just with my daddy, Uncle Brad. I’m okay! Your concert is super great!” I hear him chatting as he stands at the edge of the stage looking up at the band.

I push Silas out the way as I kneel down on the ground and gather Ben up in my arms.