Three Days Later

It's been three days. Three days since I've seen my daughter. Since I've been able to watch her playing at the park. Since I've seen that bright smile flashed across her face. Three days. Oh, God, if you would've told me that I'd have to be away from her this long. Don't get me wrong. Officer Lincoln has treated my daughter's case as if it was his own daughter who had gone missing- he's spent every waking second for my little Kayley. Along with every other person, not just from our small town but from every neighboring town around ours.

It's still... Just... it still feels as if we've gotten nothing done to find her. Nothing. Three days later and I still don't feel any closer to finding my little Kayley again than I was before. What if I never get the chance to see her again? To hear her voice... see that sparkle in her eye over her little fits of excitement?

I turned to my side, snuggling Kayley's Matilda close to my heart as I curled myself up into my pillow. Matilda was this little worn-out blanket that Kayley's had since the day she was born; the string was starting to come loose, but she refused to throw it out. Told me all about how I'd want to have something around that reminded me of her one day. I buried my face into the blanket as a couple sniffles came out. She's probably missing this blanket so much right now. It's always been such a struggle having her leave this home three days ago, but right now I am so thankful that I kept it at home. I'm still unsure whether or not I'm thankful or upset that I left this blanket at home that day. For my own sake, I'm so glad for it; I get to have a small piece of Kayley with me... even if she's not actually here with me. But what if my little girl was missing her Matilda right now? What if she needs it? Kayley could be aching for the one thing that brought her such joy and comfort as she goes through whatever it is that she's going through. What if she's crying for Matilda? Crying for some sort of comfort? No matter how hard I fought against it, the only image I could picture in my mind were those big ole eyes of Kayley's sparkling as she smiled, as her Matilda held so close to her chest that she was nearly suffocating herself with it.

"Please Kayley," I whispered quietly to myself, "Please be alright. Just be alright. Mommy has this whole town looking for you. Mommy isn't just going to give up till she sees you again, Kayley. Please. Please just be-"

"Myra." Rick spoke softly as he curled up in the empty space on the other side of the bed, wrapping my arms around my smaller frame before giving me a tight little squeeze, "You're going to end up driving yourself insane if you don't stop thinking about her."

"She's my little girl, Rick." I told him.

"Still." He responded, "It's been three days, Myra. Usually after the first twenty-four hours-"

"Don't." My tone of voice changed immediately as I found myself sitting up, placing my head in my hands, "Don't you dare say it, Rick."

"I was just- Myra," He told me, "Maybe it's about time that we start thinking about what that cop told us before."

"Officer Lincoln is going to find her." I snapped.

"Myra."

"She'll come bursting through our front door again, Rick." I replied, "Officer Lincoln will come knocking with her hand in his, and I am going to give her the biggest hug that I've ever given her."

"That's only best-case scenario and you know it is." Rick placed his hand on my shoulder, but I shoved it away.

"Stop treating her like she's already gone." I told him," She's not gone. She's just missing. Just- Just missing. There's still a chance, Rick. She hasn't been found." I turned to look at him, "There's still a chance that my little girl is still out there. That she'll come running through our front door... the biggest smile spread across her face, as if nothing's ever happened. There's still a chance, Rick. There's still a-"

The phone began to ring. My eyes fell upon the phone, terrified of what I'd hear if I was to pick it up.

Rick placed his hand over mine, "Maybe they found her."

I nodded, "Maybe Officer Lincoln's on his way to drop her off now."

I reached over and grabbed ahold of the phone, feeling a sense of fear fill my body as my hand made contact with the phone. Letting out a short breath, I placed it to my ear.

"This is Myra."

Officer Lincoln's voice immediately filled me with a sense of hope, "We might have found something, Myra."

"You found her?" A smile spread across my face, "How is she doing? Is she asking for me? Is she okay? Is she-"

"Myra." His tone of voice sent my hope directly out the window.

"Officer Lincoln?"

"We found an unidentified body... Looks just like the description you gave of Kayley... wearing the outfit you had described as what she was wearing... We need you to come in and-"

The phone fell from my hand. My heart felt as if it was just ripped to shreds. Kayley's worn-out blanket balled up on the bed between Rick and I.

"What is it, Myra?" Rick kept asking me, "Is it her? Is it our little girl?"

I couldn't find the right words to say. Almost as if the words were taken from my throat. I opened my mouth to speak but the only thing to come out was a blood-curling scream. A screaming calling out for my little girl; my little Kayley. It couldn't be. It just couldn't be. My body collapsed into Rick's arms as the tears came rushing out. Every ounce of me felt numb... As if a part of me was just taken from me.

Taking ahold of the phone himself, Rick placed it to his ear. He was silent for a bit as a tear slipped out. Eventually, he uttered out a quiet, "We'll come in as soon as we can. Thank you, Officer Lincoln."

We just sat there, holding one another in each other's arms. Afraid to get up... Afraid to get confirmation. Somehow, when I told myself I wanted to see my little girl once more... I never thought that this would've been the reason I got to see her again.