We'd shouted for Suzie until our throats were scratched and sore. We'd pointlessly gone through each damp, empty cave, straining our eyes for a glimpse of her white blonde hair. Now, Eddie and I stood with the cliff towering behind us, silent as our eyes scanned the wave-battered shoreline.

Eddie pointed along the beach, his sandy hand scratched and red from climbing through the rocks. "We should go this way." He dragged me forwards and I let him. When he'd said Suzie wasn't in the caves, he'd been right, and I was wondering how deep the understanding went between the two of them.

We walked along the beach until it was cut off by the cliff, which reached out a grey, weathered hand to the rising tide. As my desperate eyes roamed the shore, I noticed that the sparkling light on the sea had disappeared, leaving only dull grey behind. The sun had gone down.

"I'm scared." Eddie looked up at me, eyes wide, before turning back to the cold sea that threw wave after wave in our direction. His small, cold hand found mine.

"She's scared, too." His voice had shrunk to a whisper, barely audible above the crashing of water. Trying to push down my panic, I squeezed his hand gently. With effort, I gave him a smile, and he blinked back the tears that had crept into the corners of his eyes.

"Let's go back and check the sand dunes. She might not have heard us calling," I said, but it was just for Eddie's sake. I knew that if she was there, she must have heard us.

If she was there.

I twisted round, looking back along the beach. It stared back, mocking me with its emptiness.

"No, she's near the sea." Eddie shivered suddenly, as if to prove his point.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." He seemed so certain, and I took comfort from his words. Near the sea.

But Mickey was what I kept coming back to, the reason that despair was snaking into my stomach and twisting it into knots. It was almost dark now, so why hadn't Mickey come to find us? My eyes scanned the beach again.

"And the cliff. Near the cliff," Eddie announced, taking a step closer to it.

I bit my lip. "So, shall we walk back along the cliff again? Call into the caves?" I suggested, his certainty bringing me hope.

He frowned, then nodded. We began to walk, and I was painfully aware of how much narrower the beach was than when we had arrived. The cold air was biting now that the sun had set, and I pulled my jumper close around my shoulders. Eddie's knees were white, but he didn't seem to have noticed the cold. His eyes were fixed on the caves. When we got closer, he let go of my hand and sprinted to the entrance, his bare feet slipping on the sand.

"Suzie! Mickey!" He screamed it so loudly that his voice broke on the last syllable, and he had to stop and cough. The sound reverberated around for what seemed like hours, and then I heard it.

A bark.

I ran behind Eddie into overwhelming darkness, following the sound of Mickey's bark. Hope blossomed in my chest, squeezing out the despair. I could almost see Suzie's white blond hair swinging in front of her eyes. I could almost feel her in my arms, and hear her voice whisper that she'd won hide and seek. At last.

I tripped on a fallen stone and grabbed hold of the wall, the rock digging into my hand. Mickey's bark was louder here. Blindly, I pushed aside the stone and reached behind it. My hand closed on air; this was it. Her hiding spot. I grinned into the darkness.

"C'mon, Suzie. C'mon, Mickey. Just a bit further," I called out encouragingly.

Eddie walked over and bumped into me, then he felt the space too. "Suzie, you won! Well done!" I could hear his wide smile in the echoes around us. Suddenly, Mickey ran out. He jumped at us, barking, licking our hands.

But Suzie wasn't there.

We waited, but she didn't come. And so we waited some more. Eddie left to stand at the entrance of the cave, a silhouette in the grey light.

I swallowed hard. Although the hope had withered and my shoulders had slumped, determination managed to force its way in. We were going to find her. As I joined Eddie, I saw the tears streaking his face and his shoulders shaking silently. I knelt in front of him.

"Hey, Eddie." His eyes remained shut, and I took hold of his shoulders gently.

"Eddie, look at me." Slowly, he opened his eyes, blinking hard. He rubbed his sleeve across his face, smudging the watery tracks.

"Right. I've got a plan, okay?"

He nodded, and I smiled weakly, taking a deep breath. "We're gonna go back to your mummy's." Eddie's eyes widened and started to shake his head, but I carried on quickly. "Then we're going to call the coastguards. You know what they do?"

Eddie bit his lip, looking down at his bare feet and scrunching his toes into the sand. "They save people from drowning."

I nodded encouragingly. "Yeah. And they can find people who are lost, too."

Eddie sniffed and nodded back at me. I took his hand in mine, and we began to walk up the beach. Mickey barked loudly behind us, running backwards and forwards through the sand, refusing to follow us up to the car. I ignored him.

I unlocked the car and helped Eddie with his seatbelt before wrestling Mickey into the back. As I stepped in, the warmth greeted me and I sighed with relief. I turned the key into the ignition, but then Eddie began to sob. I twisted round.

"Hey! It's okay," I said, but he wouldn't listen. He drew his knees up to his chest and groaned, tears spilling out from between his fingers. The sound made despair grip my stomach again. Mickey barked louder, and I squeezed my eyes shut for a second before patting Eddie's knee.

"We're going to go get help, remember?"

At first, he spoke into his hands, voice cracking. "But she's cold."

I felt tears creep into my own eyes. Guilt racked my mind. I shouldn't have come here. I shouldn't have put her in danger.

Then Eddie stared at me through red eyes. "She's really, really cold."