Expecting to see my daughter Tammie somewhere among the cruise ship passengers in the hallway, I stopped walking and slowly turned full circle. All the faces I saw belonged to strangers.

“What did Tammie say when we separated at the restroom door?” I wondered. Unfortunately, I now realized I hadn’t paid very close attention. When I entered the restroom, I’d seen her walking away down the hall.  

As I slowly walked in the direction I’d seen my daughter go, I glanced at groups of people sitting together enjoying drinks, some people sitting next to the large windows watching the ocean, and I even saw one woman busily working on a craft. By this time, I realized I was a long way from where we’d last seen each other so I retraced my steps.

Concerned, but not worried about becoming separated, I shrugged and pulled out my phone and dialed Tammie’s phone number. A message popped up on the screen, stating my phone was out of the network. Then I decided to text her. Surely, that would go through. It didn’t.

Suddenly feeling very alone, despite seeing many fellow passengers everywhere I went, I wondered how to find Tammie. Approaching one of the ship’s workers, I said, “My daughter and I got separated.”

She asked in a heavily accented voice, “Are you Miss Kathy?” I nodded, thinking. “Good, Tammie is looking for me. We should find each other soon.” The worker pointed down the hall and said, “She went towards the food court looking for you.” I turned in that direction and slowly walked the entire ship’s length but didn’t find my daughter.

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