So glad you enjoyed it!

I thought perhaps that I might 'grow' the story but then again I thought...what if the read is left hanging? What if the readers, like the parents which whom they now feel so much sympathy and grief, were stuck in the same desperate place as them? It makes a person wonder--What happened? Will they ever know? Will they ever get her back? As a parent--that 'not knowing' is where the real terror rests.

So intense! Just the idea of a missing child makes me shiver... I think it would be great if you added to this! It works perfectly on its own too, but it's so great, I would love to read more!

I really liked this! I liked how you split up the times like that. I don't have any kids, but I love my little brother and sister like they're my kids, and I can't imagine what I would do if something happened to them.

laverybrown,

Wow. I was on pins and needles reading through your story. I know the feeling of waiting on a child to come home. Very scary too. This is definitely every parents biggest fear.

Exceptional writing!

The ending was a little unexpected! Congratulations on placing in the contest. This was well thought out and a good read.

I was so happy to see that Vanished did so well! And I'm also super proud of the young lady who actually won the contest because I helped her edit her story. Talk about feeling elated! It's like getting a 3 point shot right at the buzzer (which is crazy because I'm super short and play basketball like a total dork!)

enjoy that amazon gift card!

Perhaps the worst fear indeed. We can walk through personal frightening moments, but experiencing this would absolutely shatter any one of us.
As usual, written masterfully, Avery.

When I became a parent my fears for my children multiplied.

There was an episode where my son ran away and the pain we went through was un imaginable. The police called us and told us they found them ( he and his friend) in another state and they were safe. They weren't really, my son had to move to my moms for months since his life had been threatened.

Your story could have been my story . Well done.

Well done, well written; as a parent you certainly had me scared. A true definition of terror