‘Mina!’ I call out, desperation causing my voice to come out ragged and sharp. ‘Mina? Where are you?’ Turning in a circle I scan the garden, barely aware of the dampness beneath my bare feet, the air that grazes my cheeks so much warmer out here than it is inside the house. ‘Mina?’ Quieter now, I start to follow the path I saw her run along, around the pond and towards the woods. Did she see someone in there? A flash of white? Perhaps she thought it was me. She isn’t calling for me anymore and my entire body trembles as I creep towards the darkened edges of the trees, my heart in my mouth.

‘Mina … it’s Mummy. Come out, come to me. I’m right here.’ My feet don’t want to go into the woods, but I force myself on. I have to find her. I have to save her.

Mummy. Where are you? Mina’s voice is behind me now, and I whirl on the spot, dizziness making me squeeze my eyes shut. In that brief second there is a small splash from the pond, followed by the clear jangle of a bell and my eyes fly open to see ripples bouncing across the surface of the water. There is no sign of Mina.

‘Oh God, no, not the water.’ I am running before I have even finished processing the thought, my feet flying, my hair whipping across my face. At the edge of the pond I keep going, sinking into the mud beneath the surface. The shock of the water as it hits my thighs takes my breath away, and I strip off my jumper before diving under the water, groping blindly in the dark for any sign of her. My lungs bursting, I surface, gasping and shivering.