Shengliver’s Note: Child stealing is a heinous crime. Does it still happen in today’s China? Sure.

I was a first grader at 7. I have got a twin sister. We went to and from school together every day on our own because the school was pretty close to our home. A single trip on foot would take us about 15 minutes. Most of our classmates had their parents accompany them on the daily trips.

One day when we reached the school gate, an old woman there took my arm smiling sweetly. She said gently, “Honey, your mother is busy today. You don’t have to do school. She has asked me to come and take you home.” I was puzzled because I had not met the woman before. Looking hard at her face, I tried to recall whether I had seen her somewhere, but still I could not place her.

Just at this moment my twin sister came up and shook my arm off the woman. She said, “We don’t know you at all. Can you tell me what our mother’s name is?” The old woman was dumbfounded. My sister and I quickly tore away from her.

After that incident, I did not meet the woman at the school gate again.