I was in my parents' van and my dad was driving all of these strangers around. I sat in the middle row and the three strange people sat in the back. At one point the African American man started begging us to give his son some oatmeal or an apple. As I turned around to speak to the man I noticed there was a Caucasian woman seated next to him and she was shaking her head at me. She obviously did not want the man to get his way, and seeing as how we had no food in the van I asked him if he would like us to stop at a gas station so he could purchase something. He quickly answered "No" and shook his head, his eyes telling me he had no money, and I got the impression that he was expecting me to supply the food for him.

We arrived at my parents' house around 2:00am and mom, dad and I went inside while the rest waited in the van. As I sat in the kitchen I came to the decision that just because the man in the van was a beggar, it wasn't fair for the boy to suffer too. I searched through the cupboards and found some apple cinnamon oatmeal, and I cooked it up in a large coffee mug as I couldn't find any bowls in the cupboard.

Dad came into the kitchen and at first I wasn't sure if I should let him know what I was doing. I asked him what the people in the van were going to do and he just gazed out the window and said "Well, they're just going to sit out there until we're ready to leave."

Dad went back upstairs (I'm pretty sure they were going to sleep for the night) and I quietly went outside with the oatmeal, only to discover the strangers had left.

Did they escape? Did they leave on their own free will?

If not, why wouldn't dad lock the car doors?

Confused and tired, I went back inside and sat down to eat the abandoned oatmeal and watch some old episodes of 'Lost.'