I scanned the horizon. My eyes strained across the sand, skipping over each figure, looking for Elle. She couldn't have just vanished.
For the past thirty minutes, I have been looking for the ten year old brunette. She should have been back an hour ago. Yet, she was nowhere in sight. Even the little girl whom she had been playing with was gone.
Fighting back my rising panic, I head back to my towel, still lined up on the sand, a few metres from the sea. The whole area was busier than it had been minutes ago. I was never going to spot her in the crowds.
(107 words)
