I pace up and down for a minute, convinced I am in the right place, but also doubting myself. I turn to face the man behind the booth.
His yellow hat making me even more convinced that this is where she was.
“There was a girl here in a pink hoodie, she wanted to win the crocodile?"
“Yeah, she did really well. She won it.” He laughs, pointing behind him at the empty space where the plush toy was hanging.
“Where did she go?” I ask, nervous tension creeping into my throat.
“Uh, she was talking to a girl, then she left in that direction.” He waves his hand around in the air, gesturing.
“When—how long ago?”
“Ten minutes, maybe, more or less. I’m not too sure, sorry man. I was helping the next person.”
“No, thanks, you’ve been helpful.” I feel my brows knotting. Maybe she went to find me. Maybe she went to the ladies' room.
I shouldn’t panic. I should just look for her.
I tuck one of the popcorn boxes under my arm, balancing it against my chest as I fish around in my pocket for my phone.
I dial her number, holding the device up against my ear as I listen to it ring…and ring…and ring….
I hang up and dial again.
Nothing. Just unanswered ringing.
What the hell.
I let out a frustrated breath as the tension grows deeper, pushing warnings against the inside of my skull.
She was talking to a girl.
What girl?
As I walk past a bin I dump both boxes of popcorn into it.
Now I’m jogging, pushing through the crowds, calling out her name loudly. People are looking at me as though I’ve lost my mind.
I will have lost my mind if I’ve lost her, but surely not. Surely, she’s here somewhere and just didn’t hear her phone in the noisy chaos of the carnival.
I run too far out and end up at the back of the tents. There’s no one here, nothing happening. I need to go back.
But then I see it.
Lying on the ground.
A bright green stuffed crocodile.
Fluffy, but covered in mud from being stepped on. I pick it up, staring at the boot imprint on it.
What the fuck is going on?
Something bad happened to Tia.
The man said she won this. She left with this is in her hands, and somehow ended up behind the tents where nobody else is—and something happened to her.
I run further around the back of the carnival, but I can’t find any other clues, so I head back in.