It was Halloween and the girls were excited to go trick or treating. Emily, 8 yo was a Gypsy and Casey, 5 yo was Snoopy. We had a cat named “Moonshine” that the kids adored.
Before we could leave the house, “Moonshine” went missing. The girls were upset and wanted to go searching for the cat. I said I would go.
After I came back, Emily was missing. She went looking for the damn cat.
Three hours past. No Emily. My heart was pounding. There were costumes everywhere. No Emily.
We lived close to the river. Many times Emily and I had gone there to fish. She named her first fish Toby. I feared she was river bound.
I ran with all my speed towards the river. I was on the edge of panic as this was the last place to look. I didn’t want to believe that some “monster” or child molester could have snatched her. (I didn’t want to go there.)
When I got to the river, I saw Emily walking along the edge holding Moonshine in her arms. I yelled, “Emily come home darling”.
When I got to her, I picked her up and held her tight. I cried tears of joy and felt the panic leave my body. I felt relief.
This was the scarest Halloween in my life and I fell down on the ground and thanked God that I had found my daughter, and yes even the damn cat.