The Day I Lost Her

As I stare at the girl, I feel my heart pound inside my chest. There she is, my daughter, right in front of me after all this time. I have to reach her, to hold her, before I lose her all over again…

I have experienced what no mother should: I have lost my child. Many years ago, after my divorce, my daughter moved in with her father, and then went missing...

For years, I searched everywhere for my darling girl, but she had vanished without a trace. But even on my darkest days, when my heart felt truly broken, I kept a hope alive inside – a hope that my little girl would, one day, find her way back to me.

And now, standing in front of me, so close I could touch her, is a young woman who looks just like my beloved Tilly. I’ve been reminded of her so many times over the years, but this is different. The curve of her face, the sound of her voice…

But just as my heart leaps with unimaginable joy, she disappears into the crowd and I lose sight of her. I can’t believe she has gone before I had the chance to reach her.

As I desperately scan the faces around me, my heart pounding in my chest, I realise I am certain that she was my little girl, back after all these years. But why would she seek me out now, just to vanish all over again? And how can I find her? Because no matter how much time has passed, she will always be my little girl… And I will do whatever it takes to hold her in my arms once more.