MANY ideas come to mind when you start writing an editorial - the onset of springtime, domestic violence, world tension...
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But no news has stopped me in my tracks as much as this line -
"Police have stopped the search for missing toddler William Tyrell on the NSW mid north coast."
It is the news I knew was coming, but didn't want to accept.
William was last seen almost two weeks at his grandmother's home in Kendall. He was wearing a Spider-Man costume and was playing with his sister when he vanished.
Police and volunteers have scoured an area covering almost 50 square kilometres, but have failed to find any trace of the boy.
Of course, when someone disappears in broad daylight, the country shudders.
He might be a stranger to us - one little boy while many others suffer around the world.
But over the last few days, many of us have thought about William's innocent face - and we ask, where is he now?
When it gets dark, I think of him and his family. Do they see the same frightening possibilities that I see for William?
I hope not.
William's parents have released a statement expressing their hope he would soon be found. And while many of us agree this is an unlikely outcome, we hold onto hope too.
As Emily Dickenson says,
“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all.
It is a beautiful sentiment, and one that is shared by many hopeful parents, brothers, sisters and friends of missing people around the world.
It seems like the cruellest fate to not know. To be left wondering, imagining...
But I know, personally, I wouldn't let go of hope until there was no other conclusion.
So while I can't help but fear for William, I hold onto thoughts of him warm in bed, eating chocolate biscuits and smiling that cheeky grin.
Maybe he even has a new costume.
It's this thing with feathers we will always cling to, because it's what us humans do.