11 HOURS

Calling out to her mother, Kate waited for a kind reply. All she heard in response was silence. She tried again. “Hi, Mom. I’m home.”

She wandered around the house, finding her father sitting at their sizable kitchen table. He was pale. Kate couldn’t tell if this was because of sadness or fright. Her father was holding a large white envelope that seemed still to be sealed.

“Dad, why aren’t you at work? You’re never home this early. What’s happening?” she asked, not sure that she wanted an answer. While her father looked graceful sitting there at the table, he lifted his head and replied, “She’s gone! … Mom’s gone!”

At that moment, Kate’s skin matched her father’s: pale. They were both terribly frightened. Kate, for one, felt like hiding. With an emotion unknown to her building up inside, she felt like running far away, where no one would find her. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by her father, who tried to soothe and promise her that he would do whatever was necessary to find Kate’s beloved mother and his wife.

At this point, all kinds of questions to ask her father were forming in Kate’s mind. Finally, she burst out in tears, murmuring, “Where has she gone? … Why??” Her father, unable to reply, joined her in crying until he finally straightened the envelope in his palm and began reading what was written on the back.