What childhood memory has had the best impact on you?

This is a long story. I will break it into 3 parts.
1. Boom Boom Boomer
I think I was 5-6 years old. Me and my elder sister used to stay with our maternal grandparents, as the town in which they lived had better school than where our parents used to stay.
My grandparents used to stay in Muddebihal (Lets call it M) and my parents used to stay in Hunagunda (Lets call it H).

My mom or dad used to visit us every weekend. So whenever they came, it was a reason for celebration for me and my sister. Because of all the love and the best part, the toys. I was very little and being with my mom or dad meant everything to me (For them too :D).

As per this usual practice, one weekend my mom had come to visit us. On Sunday morning, I asked my mom to give me 1Rs. (which was equivalent to today's 10Rs.or even more), because I wanted to buy Boomer(Bubble Gum).

So my mom gave a 1Rs. note to her lovely little kid.

With uncontrolled happiness, I took and put it safely into my pocket. (I vividly remember, I had a small pocket on my shirt). Then I ran straight to a small shop which used to be near our home. It was early in the morning, so the shop hadn't opened yet. So I started walking back towards home, much disappointed. When I reached home, disappointments kept stacking. I wasn't able to find my mom. I searched in every room. I ran straight to Grandma and asked where mom was.
Grandma looked at my innocent face (and formed an evil plan :D)  and told me that mom left for home (which was in H) and she got back to her work.
That moment was like the ones they show in the movies, where the hero's heart breaks and there will be thunder striking in the background and wind blowing. Yes, it was exactly like that to 5 year old me. It gave me so much motivation to get back to my mom that I ran out of the house (nobody noticed puny little me) and started walking towards the bus stand. I knew there was a bus from M to H at exactly 7:30am (Yes I had gone to get boomer that early :P). I knew exactly the platform no. (which am unable to recall now :() So I ran to the bus, got into it and sat in a comfortable seat.

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2. The Journey
The journey from Muddebihal, Karnataka to Hungund, Karnataka is of 34 kms (21.13 miles). So I sat silently in the bus, as I knew nobody there. I was thinking about how my mom betrayed me and went back to H. I was mad at her, real mad, as mad as a kid can get! The conductor saw me and thought that I am one of the other passengers' kid. So he didn't bother much to ask me for a ticket. I maintained a low profile. There wasn't any problem till almost the end. The conductor counted the number of people and the number of tickets that were given. That didn't tally. The first suspect was me.
He came to me and asked who had taken my ticket and who I was travelling with. I didn't know what to do.

I looked at him, put my hand into my shirt pocket and Tada! took out my One Rupee note and offered it to him! Suddenly I became a sensation in the bus. Everybody started getting up from their seats and looking at me.That's the Indian mentality! Nobody came to help me, they kept looking at this new found piece of gossip. Conductor did his best to find my parents, but couldn't (you know they were in home). Finally the H bus stand arrived.

3. The Final Showdown
So I got down at H bus stand. People gathered around me. I started crying. I didn't know what else to do. They just kept looking at me. I just kept crying. Finally an old lady came forward claiming that I was her grandson.
 

I didn't even know who that was. I just kept crying (Thank god! my kidneys are still with me!). Before she could get me, suddenly a man came and picked me up, saying he knew me (He indeed knew me). Finally a familiar face. He was the gas station guy (there was only one in H at that time). Finally my rides with my dad had paid off. He took me to our home and handed me over to my dad. I think he must've been the happiest man to have found me. He thanked the gas station guy. And I got back to complete my quest. I ran all around the house to find my mom. No!!! she wasn't there! Betrayal once again! My dad took me to a STD booth (we didn't have a phone back then) called my grandparents and informed them that I was safe with him.
Meanwhile in M, a lot had happened. My grandpa, my mom's brothers and their friends were running all around the city to find me. They had filed a police complaint. Everybody was shit scared! And here I was playing with my dad happily.
After that I earned a lot of respect, because, you know, I was the 5 yr old kid who had traveled 34kms alone! :D My parents never scolded me. They were just happy that I returned safe. All of them vividly remember this incident till date. That became a standard to define how much did I love my mom(and dad)!

Impact

• I love my parents immensely and they love me even more.
• I witnessed the mentality of the Indian crowd at that age itself.
• There are good people everywhere -  The Gas Station Guy - He still recognises me.
• There exists something called 'Just Kidding' - hate you grandma!! X(
• My family would go crazy if they loose me!
• You can't buy a ticket with Rs.1 !
  

Thank you dear Sotonye Anga for the A2A! You brought back many memories with this question! :)

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