The mall was over crowded,
shoppers rushed from store to store.
Nobody paid attention, as,
she crouched there on the floor.

She didn't look in trouble,
and she didn't seem afraid.
Apparently, she stopped to rest,
she did not need my aid.

A little girl of 8 or 9,
and cute as she could be.
I wondered, should I stop and ask,
if she needs help from me?

I wondered if her mother,
had just left her there alone.
I thought, as I walked by her,
in my haste to get back home.

As I left the mall,
I could not get her off my mind.
Did that little girl need help?
Was I just acting blind?

It bothered me so much,
I had to go back in the mall.
I have to get this settled in my mind
once and for all.

The mall began to close,
I heard some chain doors coming down.
But, as I looked,
the little girl was no where to be found.

Is it. . .my imagination,
that again is running wild?
Thinking I had lost my chance
to help this poor lost child.

I guess she must be fine
or she would still be sitting here.
I get way too emotional
at Christmas time each year.

I had to leave and get back home
where it is safe and warm.
The weather forecast for that night
---a chilling winter storm.

Late that night it happened,
as the weather station said.
Frigid cold and heavy snow
while I was snug in bed.

In the morning, I awoke
to winter's nasty caper.
The only place I'd go that day
was out to get the paper.

Cozy in my kitchen,
with my news and cup of tea.
But, as I saw the front page,
it just devasted me.

On the front page down below,
a little headline read.
"At the local shopping mall,
a little girl found dead".

It was 4 A.M. this morning,
when police received the call.
The caller said "A little girl
was dead behind the mall".

It was the chilling elements
that brought her close to death.
As she lay down she fell asleep
and breathed her final breath.

I could not read the rest of it,
as I began to weep.
While I slept safe,
a little girl had frozen in her sleep.

Many years have passed me now,
but it still haunts my dreams.
Was the little girl they found
the same one I had seen?

I can't forget that little girl,
no matter how I try,
But now when someone seems in need,
I never pass them by.

The lesson I have learned from this,
was difficult but true.
The last chance that someone may have,
could very well be you.