Today Isabel got on the wrong bus. She thought she was following Poni and Alexis up No. 74 but she was actually on the bus in front, No. 157.

Seated on the upper deck (and wondering where the others were), she realised she was on the wrong bus only when it continued on Upp Bukit Timah Rd instead of turning into Clementi Rd.

Bless the child, she could have sat tight and cried; instead she hurried downstairs and told the driver she had taken the wrong bus (through tears though). The captain drove to the next stop, where he asked the passengers if somebody could take her home.

I wonder what he would have done, if a male adult had volunteered. Instead, it was an MGS girl, probably a secondary school student, who said she would take Isabel home. Together they got off the bus and began walking back to Clementi Rd.

Meanwhile Poni and Alexis were shitting themselves having discovered that the little one was not with them. They quickly got off at the next stop when they realised she must be on the 157, and jumped into a cab to follow it.

Luckily, before they had gone far, Alexis spotted her sister walking on the pavement, holding the hand of a bigger girl. While Poni paid the cab driver, she dashed out after Isabel.

They forgot to get the name of the kind stranger who was taking Isabel home.

I'm glad Isabel had the presence of mind to go to the bus driver for help instead of freezing on the spot. I wish I could have been there to prevent her from making such a mistake but I guess you can't be there always for your kids. But I was there to listen to her exciting story and give her a hug for being so scared and so brave. After that, we went on the canal and lit our lanterns for Mid-Autumn. Su Yin and Warren brought their kids to join us.

Final drama of the day was when the candle on Isabel's plastic Hello Kitty lantern burnt through the base onto his hand. It took half an hour under running water and two tablets of panadol cut with codeine phosphate to numb the pain!