Two tales of tender loving care on the Nanjing Metro have emerged this month, each involving girls as young as 3 becoming separated from their careers, whereupon fellow passengers took the initiative to look after them until their respective reunions.
It was yesterday, 20 October, that local media reported the two stories, they having occurred within just a few days, and each involving very young girls suddenly finding themselves alone in what was to them a very bewildering Nanjing Metro station.
On the morning of 13 October at approximately 8 am, a 3-year-old girl was found to be wandering alone near exit 3 of Chunjiang Lu Metro Station, reported the Yangtze Evening News.
A passing female passenger took the initiative to step in and help, taking the girl to the station’s duty police. Seeing her fear at an unfamiliar environment, police immediately brought her some snacks and toys.
Unable to share any information about her family, the policeman turned into a “temporary dad” for the little girl, taking her back and forth from exit to exit in their search for her carer. The effort paid off, as after 20 minutes, the girl’s grandfather was found, also looking for her.
Police remind the travelling public that the metro is a crowded place. Those with children must be vigilant at all times and not let them leave their sight. Every last station of the Nanjing Metro is guarded by police and station staff throughout their hours of operation.
Elsewhere and previously, in the evening of 9 October, a 4-and-a-half-year-old girl intently watched a train leave Xinzhuang Station on Metro Line 3, having just said goodbye to a temporary mum who had watched over her after she had become separated from her grandparents.
Minutes earlier and in tears, the old couple had found a duty policeman in Nanjing Railway Station Metro Station, reporting what had happened.
It turned out that the little girl was travelling with her mother and grandparents from Nanjing South Railway Station. Arriving at Xinzhuang, the little girl inexplicably got off the train as the yellow warning lights were flashing. Unable to get off in time due to much luggage and a crowded interior, the little girl cried out in fear seeing the train depart the platform.
At Nanjing Railway Station, the anxious mother, surnamed Zhou, took the next train in the opposite direction, while the old couple approached police, who immediately contacted colleagues at Xinzhuang.
After just 1 minute the call came, saying that the girl had been found with a Ms Luo, who having witnessed events unfolding, took the initiative to take the bewildered little girl to a seat to rest, acting as a temporary mum and assuming the responsibility of caregiving until the girl’s relatives and police arrived.
Back at Xinzhuang, it was an emotional scene on the platform when, seeing that her baby was well, an in-tears Zhou offered to pay thanks to Luo, but was declined, saying, “This is what I should do; it’s ok”. Luo then boarded the metro and left, with the little girl watching the train carrying her temporary mum until it had vanished into the blackness of the tunnel, out of sight but far from out of mind.
