PART 8 – I Had Promised My Daughter That I Would Come for Her, and That Promise Was the Only Thing I Could Hold On to

I kept thinking about the promise.

I had said it so many times that it had become part of our routine.

If you fall into deep water, stay calm.

Find something that floats.

Hold on.

Mommy will come.

Cassie knew those words.

She had heard them before every trip.

I hoped she remembered them.

I hoped she wasn't alone.

I hoped she had found something to keep herself above the water.

But hope wasn't the same as knowing.

I still couldn't see her.

I still couldn't hear her.

And the little pink hair tie had been the only thing I had found.

I looked toward the shore again.

There was activity around the dock.

People had heard the commotion and boats were beginning to move out.

I knew the situation had become bigger than the family gathering.

That was necessary.

My father hadn't wanted it.

My mother hadn't wanted it.

But I had no interest in keeping something this serious inside the family.

I had already given my nephew my phone.

I had told him what to report.

I hoped he had done exactly that.

I wanted the people coming to help to understand that a child had fallen from a jet ski.

I wanted them to know she had no life jacket.

I wanted them to know the driver had been drinking.

There was nothing to gain by hiding those facts.

I turned my attention back to the water.

I remembered Cassie's face that morning.

I remembered the pink swimsuit.

I remembered the little strawberry in her hair.

Those ordinary details had become the things I searched for.

I wished I could hear her asking me another question.

I wished I could tell her that she had to keep her vest on.

I wished I could return to the moment before I walked inside for sunscreen.

But there was no going back.

I had to keep moving.

I had to keep searching.

I had promised my daughter that I would come when she needed me.

I wasn't ready to give up on that promise.

The lake stretched around me.

I called her name again.

And I continued looking.

Click here to continue reading: PART 9: I Kept Searching the Same Stretch of Water, Hoping the Next Time I Looked Up Would Be Different