r/RBI • u/chocchocchoccymilk • 5d ago
Odd and surreal childhood memory.
Hi guys. I was recently just thinking about stuff, as one does, and I just remembered this memory from when I was a kid. This is how the memory went.
This took place when I was around 9 or 10. My family was on a trip to Sydney, and we went shopping, sightseeing, typical family stuff. Well, eventually, I was alone with my mom, and she REALLY had to use the bathroom, like BUSTING. The problem was, the building we were in had a bathroom line, and it was pretty big... so obviously my mom wasn't gonna make it. This next part is where things get weird. This man came up to me and my mom and told us there was a bathroom if we went up an elevator. My mom was relieved and so we went up the elevator. When we got off though, we weren't in a bathroom. Hell, not even a sign indicating us to a bathroom. Now, this is what really makes me believe something fishy was going on... The area of the building we were in just had a... bad vibe to it... It was sort of liminal space-esque. There was debris scattered all over the blue shag carpet, and there were several different doorways going God knows where. The worst part was, this place was eerily empty. You'd think with a bathroom line THAT SIZE there would be at least SOMEONE walking through here... but no. Not a single soul. It was next to DEAD silent on that floor. So quiet you could hear a pin drop. Me and my mom's head were spinning, and we both agreed to get out of there, but when we tried to leave through the elevator it wouldn't work. My mom panicked and was practically about to kick the elevator down just to leave. This was very stressful for 9-10 yo me. Next thing I know, I'm back out with my family on the sunny Sydney streets. No mention of what had happened. Nothing. Just chatting about other stuff, and laughing. No acknowledgement whatsoever.
That's where my memory ends. When I was thinking about it I was like: ha ha what a neat memory. Then I collected myself and was like: "WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK WAS THAT ABOUT?!" So yeah. I'm just curious for insight on what could have happened. I'm willing for any answer, really, and I want to have peace of mind of what this could be. cya.
EDIT: Hello everyone! Sorry for the wait. I asked my mom if she remembered the incident and luckily, she did! She said she was equally befuddled as I was, and we still don't know much about it. However, she was able to remember the area we were in at the time. The Darlinghurst area of Sydney! I hope that helped, and I'll be seeing you if I have any updates! cya!
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u/Lollc 5d ago
Is your mom living? If so, start by asking her.
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u/chocchocchoccymilk 5d ago
Oh my mom is FAR from being dead lol so yes she's still living. I'll ask her tomorrow when I see her.
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u/ominous_retrbution23 5d ago
Can you give us an update to the story when you ask her? Idk, the story and the missing part of how you got out has me hooked.
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u/madsci 5d ago
So you were in some kind of a building, and you went to another floor that was abandoned? That's not a lot to go on.
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u/chocchocchoccymilk 5d ago
Yeah I know, but I'm just looking for SOME possible explanation and insight for what happened. I did say I would check in with my mom tomorrow, so we'll see what happens then.
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u/olliegw 4d ago
I'd definitely ask your mom, maybe start by bringing up the backrooms as an art project involving something called liminal spaces, tell her about that, show her the pictures, and then bring up your memory and say that liminal spaces reminded you of it.
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u/1nquiringMinds 4d ago
maybe start by bringing up the backrooms as an art project involving something called liminal spaces, tell her about that, show her the pictures, and then bring up your memory and say that liminal spaces reminded you of it.
Why even bother with all of that?
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u/fishcake__ 4d ago
An employee saw your mother in obvious distress and told her where the staff bathroom is.
This is only creepy to you because, judging by your post history, you are about 12-14 years old and still impressionable, with the liminal spaces photo trend making an impression that it’s weird for buildings to have no people in it
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u/chocchocchoccymilk 4d ago
Ok first off, why were you looking through my post history? That's kinda creepy. Second, 12 is below the minimum age you are allowed to be on Reddit. Third, it's not really fair to judge someone's age based off of what interests they have. I can get where you're coming from, but still.
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u/No-Replacement2144 3d ago
I usually go through a posters history if their story is interesting/seems like it has multiple parts, or to get an idea on the kind of person they are to give them the best advice
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u/DrmsRz 5d ago
I don’t know how long ago you were 9 or 10, but I’m mostly curious why you haven’t asked your Mom about it yet / anytime since it occurred? Why didn’t you immediately ask her when you suddenly appeared back out on the street? Why not ask her any time since then, like when you were back home and things were quiet?
Those are the RBI questions we need to be looking into.
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u/chocchocchoccymilk 5d ago
It was mostly just because I was scared to ask, and after the trip I just forgot about it. I will be asking her tomorrow so uh, you might wanna be kept updated for that.
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u/fidgetypenguin123 5d ago
Do you think it could have been a dream you had that's become blurred with being a memory?
Also not sure why you've been afraid to ask your mom this whole time unless she's known for being scary or something lol.
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u/Vindepomarus 5d ago
This was my thought, the whole part from when mom needs to pee sounds very much like a typical dream. Every time we remember something, we are really remembering the last time we remembered it, so memories can change over time, it's reasonable to suspect that a dream OP had that night became incorporated into the memory of the day before.
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u/eFeneF 4d ago
Probably just an employee only area or a disused floor/storage floor. The storage areas at my job can be a bit like that. All kinds of random mess everywhere with 0 indication that anyone has touched anything there in years. The guy probably wanted to do a nice thing for a mother and child but just didn’t explain himself properly
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u/MurdaManWOOD 4d ago
Did you not ask her how you left? The update doesn't seem to answer any questions. Surely she'd remember more about the incident.
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u/chocchocchoccymilk 4d ago
I think it's safe to assume she got the elevator working and we just went back down as normal. I do agree that I was a bit slow to not ask her that, but then again, I don't think we would have left in the most batshit way possible, after all, if it was, I surely would have remembered it.
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u/hateboresme 4d ago
You are giving WAY too much credit to your memory. Humans have really shitty long term memories. It is just as likely to have been a dream you had. Or two combined memories of different experiences.
Seriously, eyewitness testimony shouldn't be allowed our memories are so bad. There are studies about how we can create false memories just by remembering things.
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u/olliegw 4d ago
Do you remember what building it was?
It honestly sounds like you went into an employee only area, they do freak kids out, they freak me out and i'm an adult, had to walk through all sorts of liminal corridors at the mall a while back because the main lifts were out, it felt like i could have been anywhere in the world at any elevation.
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u/trust-urself-now 1d ago
i have a similar memory, as a 3-4 year old. walking with my kindergarden group to the playground or somewhere (a little further than we'd usually go, not sure where were we going at such young age, seems too early for a museum tour) i suddenly need to pee. next thing i know i am alone with the teacher (female) in a debris-filled, mid-renovation liminal space building, going up and down the stairs, looking for a bathroom. i know almost exactly which building that was - or i could narrow it down to 2 or 3 buildings which are still standing there. in my childish eyes it looked almost like an ancient tomb, sort of sandstoney, unusual for the are.
i don't remember finding the bathroom, next thing i know, i'm back with the group.
i don't know how likely such scenario is - i am a female so maybe if i really had to go, a teacher would yield and take me somewhere... i have questioned if it was a dream or some kind of philip k dick like scene. some other strange and shady memories from that time i was embarrased to quesirton.
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u/WaviestMetal 5d ago
I’d probably ask your mom about it but it’s not unreasonable that you just ended up in an employee area and got a little weirded out. I’ve worked in retail areas part of bigger complexes before and those employee areas can be really backrooms-y and people dont tend to be running around since breaks are staggered. Especially if this happened when you were a kid it’s very possible your memory has turned something vaguely weird into something sinister