Lifeboat Lighthouse

Chapter 14

Cruise Day 13 – Rhodes, Greece (Freen's POV)

I had been running the streets shouting Rosie's name for the last 40 minutes with no luck. My heart felt like it jumped into my throat every time I saw a little girl with dark brown hair, but it was never her.

My mind was in overdrive. I'd told Becky I'd find her sister, but the truth was I didn't even know where to start. She had been missing for almost 3 hours and if someone really had taken her, the likelihood was that they'd be long gone from the island by now. I couldn't allow myself to think like that though; I knew what it was like to lose a sibling and there was no way I could let Becky go through that.

I was in the main tourist area now and there were people everywhere. Shouting, laughing, pushing past. Suddenly, I could feel my chest beginning to tighten and an overwhelming weight taking over my entire body. Everything around me seemed to be moving at double speed and closing in on me. I knew this was the beginning of an anxiety attack coming on... being stuck in large crowds seemed to be one of the main triggers for me.

I couldn't let this happen right now; there was no time for me to start breaking down. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I needed to think of something comforting to get my head to a safe place before the anxiety took over. Becky's smile was the first thing that came to mind, closely followed by Becky's laugh. I exhaled slowly and took in another deep breath through my nose. Becky's voice. Becky's eyes. The feeling of waking up with Becky's body wrapped around mine, her warm breath hitting my neck.

That was it; that was all I needed. I took one final deep breath and with the thought of the tiny girl's beauty still imprinted on my mind, I pushed myself to keep going.

I took out my phone and loaded the picture that Becky had sent to me the day they were in Sicily and zoomed into Rosie so you could get a clear view. I looked up just as a couple were about to walk around me.

"Excuse me, have you seen this little girl?" I asked, lifting the phone to their faces.

The couple scanned the picture for a few seconds. The man shook his head. "I don't think so, sorry."

I nodded before moving quickly to approach a lady about to pass on my left.

"Excuse m.." She pushed right past me before I could even finish.

Trying not to let it phase me, I ran slightly up ahead, stopping a family with small children that were walking toward the beach.

"Excuse me, have you seen this little girl?" I asked, almost pleading now. They stared back at me blankly before beginning to speak in a foreign language I didn't recognize.

"This girl." I said, pointing to the picture on the phone desperately. The mother must have picked up on what I was asking, as she gave me a sad smile and shook her head in response.

Shit. The panic was starting to set back in; this was beginning to feel impossible.

I continued to approach people along the street for the next 15 minutes with no luck at all. Just as I was about to give up and move to a different area, my ear picked up the familiar sound of an English speaker just slightly up ahead, and something in me decided to fight my way through to it.

"Excuse me... excuse me, have you seen this girl? She's about 4ft tall, brown eyes and English."

The woman stared at the picture, taking a little longer to study it than the majority of people before her. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally spoke.

"I couldn't say for certain, but I might have seen a girl 15 minutes ago that looked very similar. She was walking past the children's playground as we were leaving and she caught my eye because she was crying. But she was with a man and a lady, I just assumed they were her parents."