Worried

We (okay, hubby most of the time) walk our dogs on the soccer court in our town. There's plenty of grass for the whippets to run their hearts out and they have the time of their life playing around.

The other day, I walked them at night, instead of in the morning. Two little girls were playing in the adjacent playground. They were watching the dogs and I could tell they were very interested. One of the girls came to me and she asked me - in a very polite way - if she and her friend could play with the dogs. They were only 8 years old. One little girl had its origin in Poland, while her friend came from the Philippines. They introduced themselves and talked openly about their home and their family. They came to live in the neighborhood about 2 years ago. The dogs enjoyed their two new friends and it was great to see them race around the soccer field, trying to catch ball with the girls.

But you know what startled me? At first, the older sister of the Polish girl, was in the playground too. She went home without taking the little ones with her. I stayed on the soccer field for like half an hour and they didn't go home until I left. I asked them several times if their mommy wouldn't be upset if they stayed late? They nodded their heads and they kept racing with the dogs.

I found it troublesome.. What if I had had bad intentions? What if I were some malicious man, interested in little girls? These two girls were so naive and unsuspecting. They came to talk to me, they walked with me and they told me their names. They were easy targets.. What a shame I have to think like this. Would I have thought the same 30 years ago? Probably not. But these days, kidnappers and child molesters are everywhere. It's a scary thought, that someone might take these two precious little girls. They had no sense of what could happen to them if they ran into a predator.. I hope they came home safely..