He had not simply waited to be rescued.

He had, at nine years old, cold and frightened and alone in the dark, tried to solve the problem himself.

He had thought of the security guard, and gone to find him.

He had thought of finding help, and set out to find it.

There is something almost unbearable in that, in a small child’s methodical, exhausted attempts to save his own life because the adults who should have saved it had failed him.

He should never have had to be so resourceful.