Chapter 1

It was the not knowing, she thought. The constant
wondering – what had really happened? She asked
herself that question over and over again.
Richie seemed OK. Nothing obvious appeared to
be bothering him. He shouted goodbye as usual as he
left the house for a walk. He loved walking. He
walked miles, sometimes with others but often alone,
usually directly from the house into the local area.
That day was no different, except on that particular
day Richie didn’t return.
Life had been so difficult without him. What do
you tell people? How long do you hang on to the
hope that he might yet return? At what point do you
try to accept it, stop obsessing about what might have
happened. None of the answers were forthcoming…