On the fridge door, along with Bella’s paintings, a new drawing had appeared. A red scribble inside a heart and words in blue texta: WE LOVE BELLA. The letters were misshapen but still legible. Had Sammy written it? Could he actually form letters? Mel had tidied the toys and the books in the living room. Perhaps Sammy had played in there. Or was it Tara’s daughter enjoying Bella’s dress-up box and Bella’s fairy tea set? Her special playmates had been in her house—if only she’d been here too.

My phone buzzed in the back pocket of my jeans and I reached for it. Heart thudding, I brought the screen into view. Phoebe again. Hoping for good news.

‘Nothing to report,’ I said quickly.

‘I’m sure you’ll find her this morning. A bit cold and missing Lulu but otherwise okay.’

Lulu, Bella’s first and favourite bed toy. A pink teddy bear head sewn onto a tiny blanket body. Bella slept with her every night.

‘Maybe she saw a fairy and followed it into someone’s shed,’ I mused out loud. ‘Maybe she thought she could make herself invisible so the fairy didn’t see her.’

Bella believed in fairies, my sister understood. I could say this to her; I could say anything to her. Wherever we went, Bella looked for fairies, hoping that she would catch one unawares before it vanished. Perhaps I’d encouraged it with my pet name for her. When I read her the story of Peter Pan, she wasn’t interested in the Lost Boys or the ticking crocodile, only Tinker Bell.

‘Yes, she’s with a fairy,’ my sister agreed. ‘She’s safe and warm inside.’

Her decisive words calmed me. Phoebe had the resilience to roll with the punches and come back up ready to fight, ready to live life to the fullest. Just like my little Bella.

That feeling of calm only lasted for five minutes. As I left the house, a slight breeze brushed the early-morning air against my face. Cold for my Bella but not freezing. Two weeks ago, it had been minus four, the ground sparkling with frost. This morning, the Brindabellas had disappeared into fog. Please, God, let Bella have found somewhere warm to sleep.