Stolen From Under the Stars

"How about the Blowholes, Emma?" Luke finally comes up with an idea after thinking aloud for a while. "Isn't that too close for a camping trip?" I opine. "It's our first trip together as a family. Trust me, it's the perfect place, Emma. We grew up there, remember? The fishing, diving, crayfish and all?" I can see the joy in Luke's face. He is excited about his choice. The flashbacks from my childhood memories - running around the hot soil of the Blowholes beach during summer vacations - bring forth a chuckle in me. "Yeah, you're right, Luke. The Blowholes would be perfect for next week's trip." I don't need further convincing. I love the idea of watching our girls, Cassie and Ayla, running around and playing with the beach sands. Or them splashing around the ocean. Cassie would have enough space to ride her bike down the ocean banks as she had always wanted. Cassie also needs to practice her swimming lesson, so the beach would be the perfect place for Luke to finally teach her how to swim. "So when are we going?" There is now some hint of excitement in my voice. "Next two weeks. We can go on Friday and come back the following week." I open my phone's Calendar app to check the date. Friday next two weeks would be the fifteenth of October. My schedule around that period is free except for Daniel's visit. I can always rearrange that, so everything should work out perfectly. "Fifteenth of October, it is!" I can't wait to break the news to our girls but it is already past their bedtime. Well, tomorrow can wait. "So how many days are we looking at Luke?" "I was thinking about Friday to the next weekend. So that would make it eight full days. It's gonna be fun, Emma." He leans over to my bedside and wraps his arm around my waist. We discuss minor details of the plan for the rest of the night. Luke is unusually talkative tonight. Eventually, I am the first to wane out. "I am already sleepy, Luke. We still have eleven or twelve more days to plan the whole thing. We'll talk more tomorrow. " I kiss him good night and switch off the bedside bulbs. Sliding underneath the duvet, I quickly fall asleep once my eyes have been shut. *** I had tucked Ayla back into her cradle after breastfeeding her minutes earlier. That was before I heard Luke's voice calling out for Cassie from the living room. I walk out to see both daughter and father, ready to leave for school and work, respectively. "I am ready now, daddy." "Before I drop you off at school Cassie, mummy and I wanna tell you a surprise news." Luke winks at me. I already know what he means. "Tell her the surprise, Emma." He urges me on. "Tell me, mummy!" Cassie bubbles up and down. Her face is brimming with happiness. "Okay here we go. We all are gonna go camping very soon, Cassie! Outdoor camping with lots of fun on the beach." I announce the news to her. "Yeah camping! The beach!" Cassie continues to jump up and down. There is no four-year-old girl more outgoing than Cassie. Her positive reaction to the news is exactly as I predicted. "Yeah camping on the beach side with the ocean in view. All of us will be together camping outdoors for one week." Luke adds. "What do you think Cassie?" "I am so excited. I can't wait. Is it tomorrow?" "No, Cassie. It's just the Friday after this week. We're gonna have a lot of fun on this camping trip. But, first, I am gonna have to teach you how to swim." Luke explains further to her excitement. I can see the joy in my daughter's face. She has always been an outdoor person who would play with her toys in our backyard and ride her bike for fun at any opportunity. "I hate to be a party pooper, but you both are gonna be late. It's time to get going." I bring the whole excitement to a pause. Taking heed of my advice, Luke takes Cassie to school, leaving me alone at home with Ayla. *** We live in the remote coastal town of Carnarvon in Western Australia. A small town of just under five thousand persons. The closest city to our home town is Perth, which is about five hundred and fifty miles away. Carnarvon has always been home to Luke and me, who grew up here. With the town self-sufficient and ever peaceful, there is little wonder why we never thought about moving away from Carnarvon. With Luke and Cassie leaving, I head back to attend to Ayla, who is now awake. "Who's troubling mummy's girl?" I whisper playfully into her ears. Then, carrying her out of her cradle into my arms, I walk around the room to pacify her cries which work like magic. Alone with my thoughts, I fantasize about how the family camping trip would go. The idea of finally spending quality time away from work, house chores, neighbors, and families is refreshing. Our family needs this break to create memorable moments, especially for Luke and Cassie. Their relationship as step-father and daughter has dramatically improved from the first day Luke came into our lives. About three years after the very first day we started this new family, I can't be more proud of our progress so far. I had met Luke shortly after my breakup with Daniel, Cassie's real father. Daniel and I ended our relationship months after Cassie's birth. Some months later, I would meet a charming Luke. We bounced off each other's positive energy. Immediately, I fell in love with Luke. We would welcome Ayla into our young family two years after we started dating. Unfortunately, with the pregnancy and the Pandemic breakout last year, we never had any real opportunity to have a family vacation. This would change with the next week's vacation at the Blowholes campsite. As instructed by Luke, I ring Daniel's phone to tell him of our plans. "Hey, Dan. Good morning." "Emma, how're you doing?" "Fine," I answer. "And the girls? You all are doing great, right?" From his undertone, it is obvious I had woken him up from sleep, for he yawned between his speeches as he talked. "Yeah, we are...I just wanna tell you that we have a camping trip planned for next weekend through the following week so your visit to Cassie can't take place around that period. You can reschedule it though." "Nah. You guys should enjoy your trip. I am gonna see her next month then. Say hi to Cassie for me." "Take care, Dan." *** The day we had all been looking forward to finally arrived. Today is the fifteenth of October. Luke and I are panicking around over any last-minute additions to our plan. Everyone who needed to know about our trip had been informed. From our parents to some friendly neighbors. I run another check on our camping supplies, and everything seems to be in place. Our sleeping bags, tent, inflatable beds, food, clothing, bathing soaps, body lotions, etc., are ready for packing. While I await the coming of Luke and Cassie from work and school, I make another stop at the local store to bulk up our food supplies. "Mummy, we're home!" I was in the kitchen when Luke and Cassie came in. Like we had planned, Luke picked up Cassie after school on his way back from work. He closed from work earlier than usual today to join me in finishing up the final packing. "Do you care for some pancakes, Cassie? I am almost done here." "Yes, mummy. I want pancakes." She runs to join me in the kitchen. "How about you Luke?" "Sure. I am even kinda hungry right now." I bake more pancakes and serve them to my hungry folks before attending to Ayla's needs. We finish packing all of our stuff needed for the trip around four. After that, we all take our baths and dress for our leave. With everything packed into the trunk of our car, we set off for the Blowholes campsite.

The Blowholes campsite is roughly fifty miles north of Carnarvon. We arrived about an hour after leaving home. The journey down here was fun for the most part, with the whole family singing along to top charting Australian songs on the car radio. The sightseeing along the road brought numerous questions from Cassie, many of which Luke is happy to provide answers to. We arrived at the campsite around six that evening. We quickly set up the tents with the aid of the fading sunlight. "No need, I got it all covered." Luke gently cautions Cassie as she attempts to help with the inflatable beds. "Should I send Ayla over to help your ass too?" I tease him. "Maybe when she learns how to walk. Cassie is already a handful after all." Luke does most of the work setting up the camp. Ayla is enough distraction for me, limiting the help I can render. Our camp house comprises a large canopy serving as our living area and a two-bedroom make-shift tent. The two bedrooms are separated by a thin divider of tarpaulin sheets. Each bedroom has its opening zips from the opposite sides. Our kitchen equipment and cooker are nicely set up under the canopy with the chairs and other kitchen utensils. Cassie's little bike is kept there too. Luke must have been weary from having done much of the heavy lifting. Nevertheless, by the time the sun had set, we had everything in place. "Dinner time!" I call out. Cassie and Luke are still struggling with putting up the fire, but I go ahead to set out the marshmallow dish for everyone. "Dinner is set and ready!" I call out again. This time around, they hear me. Luke and Cassie rush down to the living area to join Ayla and me. "Marshmallows for everyone." I pass around their dish as soon as they had settled. Cassie has her dinner while sitting on the cushioned floor. She's all chatty, as usual. "More Marshmallows for me. I want more." I can't grant her request, for I had already served everything. "How about you take some of mine, Cassie?" Luke is quick to profess a solution. "Wouldn't you go hungry daddy?" "Not really. I already had enough at lunch to last me till tomorrow. You can have some of my Marshmallows." He shares a large chunk of his leftover meal with Cassie. After everyone is done with dinner, we all head over to the beachside fire that Luke and Cassie had set up earlier to watch over the moon. The ocean waves are strong tonight. Amid the strong waves of water splashing against each other, we can hear rough wind currents and shark noises. "You wanna know something fun about stars, Cassie?" I turn and lie beside her on the bare sand, face-up towards the dark skies. "Yeah, mummy. Tell me." She pleads. "Some cultures believe that the stars in the sky are our dead ancestors." "What is an ancestor, mummy?" "Ancestors are our dead grandparents and great-grandparents. Like the fathers and mothers of grandma Lizzy. Her father's fathers and mothers too. And their own fathers and mothers too all till back over hundreds of years ago. So Cassie everyone in our family history that is dead is up there in the sky as stars. That way they are looking down on us all and are always by our sides." "That's cool mummy. So how can I know which star is Grandma Lizzy's mum and dad?" Her question gets me a little befuddled, but I quickly think of a reasonable answer. "There are millions of stars in the sky, Cassie. Grandma Lizzy's mum and dad are among them but you can't know which one they are. They can see us from above but we can see them too in the stars but can't pick which particular one. Just know that wherever and whenever you are feeling lonely, you can always look up in the stars and see your past family watching over you." Luke had now joined us with Ayla in his arms. "Daddy, is it true that the stars are our dead father's father fathers and our dead mother's mother mothers?" Cassie verifies my story with Luke. I give him a wink as he is about to reply to her question. "Yes, it is true. It's kinda cool, right?" "Yeah, I guess." We continue watching over the sky in its full glory while we talk. Luke tries teaching Cassie some concepts of astrology, but I guess it is too complex for her to understand. "Mummy, I am tired." She yawns. It is past their usual bedtime of eight. "Okay. Let's get you to sleep then." I take Cassie back to the tent. The smaller bedroom is for the girls. I help change Cassie's clothes into a more comfortable night dressing, pink pajamas. Soon afterward, I watch as she falls asleep. Ayla would join her sister in sleeping not long after. I watch my two girls sleep peacefully in their beds before returning to meet Luke. He is now seated in the Kazibo living area. "It's pretty windy tonight right?" I move to sit beside Luke on the mat. "Yeah...and pretty noisy too." We had our little quiet moment when nothing else mattered save for ourselves. "It's sleeping time." Luke would bring our stay there to an end. "Let's get back to the tent. I am already feeling sleepy too. We have a long day ahead of us with the planned activities for our girls too." I check our girls' side of the tent before retiring to ours. Cassie and Ayla are still fast asleep. No sooner had we crawled into our bed than Luke and I joined our daughters in dreamland. *** "Mummy, I am thirsty." A repetition of that statement brings me back from my sleep. It is Cassie who needs my attention. She had stepped through the divider to our side of the tent. I step outside to get some water from our supplies box in the living area, leaving Cassie in our room with Luke. I come back quickly with a bottle of water for Cassie. "It's fine, Cassie. Here you go, have some water." I hand her the bottle of water. She gulps down the water till she can take no more. "You're all good now, Cassie? Sure you don't wanna have a pee?" "No mummy, I am fine now." She pops back to her bed with a full smile on her face. "Good night mummy." I look at my wristwatch, and the time reads half past one. Still enough hours to enjoy my sleep. "Nighty love. Sleep tight." I ruffle Cassie's blonde hair before returning to our tent section. Having another check on my girls, I peep through the tent divider again to see them asleep on their respective beds. Luke, too, is well spent, for he isn't even aware of the slight inconvenience. Then, fulfilled and excited about what tomorrow would offer, I return to join my husband on our bed and resume my sleep. *** The six o'clock alarm wakes us up for a new day. The irritating sounds of the alarm are enough to frustrate me from my excellent sleep. Luke is up already by my side. I crawl through the divider to receive the shock of my life. The zipper of our tent is wide open from the girls' side! Instinctively, I glance at their beds. Ayla is lying still on her bed, but no sign of Cassie! "Cassie's gone!" I turn around to Luke. "What?" "Cassie's gone!" Luke's eyes widened, for he had now come to terms with what had happened. He rushes outside of the tent to search for her. I am panicking, so I have another check on Ayla. She's okay. Joining Luke outside, I am struggling to understand what is happening. "I can't find her, Emma! I can't find her!" Luke's voice is as high as I have ever seen him go. "I already checked the toilet and everywhere around. She isn't here, Emma! Cassie wouldn't leave the tent. She wouldn't." He, too, is panicking. I rush back into the tent to pick up Ayla before joining Luke in the search for Cassie. We scream out her name. "Cassie, are you there?" There is no sign of our daughter anywhere near the campsite. Finally, after those fruitless minutes of searching around, it dawned on me that Cassie was gone. That moment would signal the start of a nightmare for my family and me.

"Emma, her sleeping bag is gone too." Announces Luke as we turn back to the tent. "Someone took her. She couldn't have dragged the bag herself." Luke stoops down to observe the floor of the girls' room. "There isn't a sign of drag on the floor. Yeah someone took our daughter." He is sure of his conviction now. "A bastard took our daughter, Emma!" He cries out again. I have Ayla crying in my arms. With all the commotion, I don't even have time to attend to her needs. Our shouting had alerted other campers on site. "What's the problem?" A camper close to our tent asks. "We can't find our four-year-old daughter. The zipper of our tent was open from the other side when we woke up this morning. Then our daughter too was gone." Luke explains to the concerned camper. Other neighboring campers join us in our search for Cassie. "Have you checked all the camp checkpoints?" Someone suggests. Luke and I hurry around to have a look at all the checks on the campsite. All of these checks are closed. We walk on foot and, at times, even have to run. Crying out for Cassie as loud as our voices could go doesn't seem to be working. In my mind, I can only pray to see my daughter running into my arms once again. "Let's get the car and check around once again," Luke suggests another solution. We grab some of our things in the car and drive around the campsite, up and down, through every corner of the beach, yet no sign of Cassie. "I am gonna call triple zero. The person who took Cassie is most likely not here again." Luke gives his approval, so I dial the number. "Hello, Who's on the line?" A voice calls out from the other side of the call. "My daughter is missing...I can't find her." My voice cracks as I struggle to complete each sentence. "Calm down, Ma'am. What's your location?" "Blowholes campsite." "What happened, Ma'am?" "We arrived at the Blowholes campsite yesterday evening. Me, my husband, and our two daughters. Now we woke up this morning to find out that our first daughter, Cassie, is missing. We can't find her anywhere here. Someone took her along with her sleeping bag. Help, we can't find our daughter." I manage to stammer my way through my explanation. The police advise on the phone that we stay in check until they arrive. We drive back to our tent location to wait for the police. Looking around one last time, I notice another clue. Our side of the tent was also open when I woke up earlier. "Whoever took Cassie had opened our side of the tent and saw us sleeping." So again, I alert Luke of my discovery. Shortly after I made the call, two police patrol vans drove into the campsite. By the time the police arrived, most campers on site had joined in our search for Cassie. Another police vehicle came in a few minutes later. The police set up their search team and escorted Luke and me to somewhere private for more inquiries. *** I watch as the police do their job. They tape around our camping spot to avoid interference with the evidence available, as they explained. Two of the police officers come over to pacify Luke and me. Little Ayla is oblivious to all that is happening now. She needs to be attended to. I scamper around the few things left in our car to search for her feeding bottle. There is some milk left, just enough for her breakfast. Thereafter, I join Luke in answering the police questions while feeding Ayla simultaneously. "Your daughter is missing, Ma'am. Stay calm. We're gonna help you find her." A kind police officer tries to cheer me up amidst my sobbing. My eyes are glaring red from the tears. A delicate mix of mucus and tears makes my cheeks wet. I am in pain, so I cry my sorrow away. Luke finds success in calming me down for a bit. After that, the officers are back to continue the questioning. "So sir and ma'am, your daughter went missing this morning. Can you state exactly the time you discovered that she was missing?" "It should be a few minutes past six for the six o'clock alarm had to wake us up just before we found out that Cassie was missing." Answers Luke. "When was the last time you guys saw her?" "It was around half past one, this morning. Cassie woke up feeling thirsty and I gave her water and put her back to bed." I narrate to them. Luke is hearing this info from me for the first time for he was asleep when I attended to Cassie's demand for water, hours earlier. The police continue their routine questions. They collect some minor details about Cassie from us. Her age, size, description, and stuff like that. "Mr. and Mrs. Miller, you can leave for your home now. You both have done your best. We appreciate your effort but now is the time to leave it for us, the police. Go home with your wife, Mr. Miller. Have some rest already and we will get in touch with you all soon." The kind officer suggests to Luke. "We should get going, Emma." I resisted heading back home at first, but after further explanation from Luke about why it was in our best interest to go back, I conceded. Watching more police troops coming into the campsite brings forth mixed feelings in me. But, as we drive back home, leaving the dunes of the Blowholes, the final reality check hits me. At that moment, my heart reconciles with my head. Cassie will not run into my hands this morning; she's truly gone. She is nowhere near me. Someone has her, someone has my baby. *** Our ride back home is in dark contrast to our arrival ride. Luke and I barely spoke to each other for the nearly one-hour journey back home. We both had a lot going on in our minds. But, each of us got some thinking to do, so we gave each other the needed space. Madam Agatha came to welcome us as soon as we entered our home driveway. She is a friendly neighbor of ours. Despite the age difference of over thirty years between us, Agatha and I had come to have a solid friendship. "You guys are back earlier than planned. Came to pick something up or any issues back there?" Madam Agatha greets us with questions neither of us is willing to answer. "Yeah, something bad happened to Cassie. We couldn't find her when we woke up this morning. The police are out there searching for her." Luke is the first to give in. Madam Agatha is curious to know more, but we had to tell her off. "Sorry, maybe later. We need to be alone right now." The house is still shining clean like we had left it yesterday evening. Luke jumps onto the couch immediately after we enter our living room. He has his hands on his head. While he does his best to hold back his tears, unlike me, the signs of the gloom on his face are as clear as daylight. Less than half an hour after our arrival, police sirens can be heard outside our home. A light knock on our door makes me lift my two hundred-plus pounds body from the couch rather lazily. I help the police into our home. I can count five outside, but only two come into the house. "I am Inspector Ken Pattinson." One of the officers introduces himself. He is a very tall man with a thick local accent. He wears his mustache in a rather unusual style. "We're just here to calm your family and give you some minor updates." He continues. Luke and I nod in response to his statement. "Right now we have sent a helicopter to scan from above and some drones are also in the sky scanning the whole Blowholes area. If she's lost somewhere there, we would surely find her. Volunteer forms for the local search team will be out before noon. All hands are on the desk to find her. Our best bet is to find her in the next six to twelve hours. For every hour gone, the odds of finding your daughter reduce so we are going as hard as possible right now. For now, I just need you all to stay put right here." I listen carefully to every word from Inspector Pattinson's lips. "I need to go out there and find my daughter. I can't just stay put here doing nothing." Argues Luke. "You both aren't doing nothing staying here. We will be needing your cooperation from time to time. You both should remain home with your little girl and avoid contact from the outside world apart from families and close relations." I can see Luke's feet trembling. "What do you think happened to your daughter?" Asks the inspector. "I feel someone took her from our tent while we were sleeping early this morning. The zippers were wide open from the outside and our side too. Her sleeping bag was taken along with her too." I join the discussion for the first time. "Yes, preliminary findings show that she was most likely abducted by someone. We would first search the whole vicinity of the Blowholes area to check off the possibility of her wandering out. Our team is gonna search through every sand on that beach to find her if she is anywhere near Blowholes. Also..." "...Her name is Cassie." Unfortunately, I had to cut the inspector off his speech because he avoided using Cassie's name. "You say what?" "Our daughter, her name is Cassie." "Okay, thanks. We will surely find Cassie. We would soon start looking at CCTV and satellite images from the entrance and exit of the campsite. Our team is currently searching through every tent and vehicle of campers back there. We will call in immediately if we have something for you." The police check through our home for a while. They explained to us that they needed to gather as many clues as they could find. Leaving our home to their mercy, I head back to the girls' bedroom to cry. With Ayla firmly cuddled in my arm, I gently let the tears roll down my eyes as I reminisce about the day's ordeal.