NINE

And that was how I found myself standing in that crowd, not a single face familiar to me for as far as I could see, my lifeline cut, fear making my knees weak, and my heart pounding like a basketball rattling hard inside a hoop. I thought back to those safe moments a few days before, when I was on the plane with Grandpa by my side.

I was alone. I had never been so alone. And I’d never been so frightened in all my life.