The Girl Who Went Missing After a Game of Hide-and-Seek

The story was told by the mother of the missing girl amid tears and a runny nose. It obviously was a painful story for her to recount, but she felt she owed it to the memory of her dear daughter. “Besides, she would have wanted me to tell her story, she was such a kind and sweet soul” her mother added.

It was the day of Salome’s 16th birthday party, and because she had just finished secondary school with flying colours, and was soon to be admitted into Imperial College for a degree in Biotechnology Engineering, her father felt it would be right to reward her with a big and beautiful “Sweet Sixteen” party.

Salome was allowed to plan the details of her party – the theme, the colours, the food, the venue, everything – and being a girl who paid attention to even the littlest things, it came out all beautiful that the event planner whom she worked with had such glowing things to say about her.

The day soon came and there was an afternoon bash – a little garden party – at her house. Oh! it was so much fun!! But that was a mere appetizer compared to the main course that was the soiree, which held later that night at a swanky hotel on Victoria Island. All her friends were present at the ball room of this grand hotel in beautiful clothes, and they welcomed her upon arrival in a horse-drawn carriage, carried on the shoulders of good-looking, barely covered male models, just like the princess that she was!

The party went underway, and the guests played some casual party games and had a blast. But just before midnight, Salome suggested that they play a game of hide-and-seek, with the last person to be found rewarded with a ruby ring her cousin had given her. Of course, everyone was interested because they wanted to win the prize, knowing how valuable the ring was. But Salome wanted to make sure that anyone who won the ring was truly worthy of it, so she sought the most secretive place in the hotel to hide.

Everyone who took part in the game was found within 30 minutes, but not Salome. They searched everywhere thoroughly and had to call in the hotel management, who sent their men to comb the hotel through – they searched every room, emptied the Olympic-size pool, checked the balconies, they searched everywhere all to no avail. Finally, they put out a Missing Persons Report which didn’t turn up any leads. Salome’s disappearance made the news, and it left everyone puzzled as to how a beautiful, kind, and promising young girl could just disappear into thin air!

The answer to that puzzle though was found during a maintenance check of the hotel’s central air-conditioning and heating system, when a maintenance worker opened the conduit grill behind the service stairway – which was designed to be used by hotel workers in the case of an emergency, and hence was hardly ever used. There, and hunched over were the bones of what was left of Salome, her beautiful silk gown faded and browned from age, her mouth opened as she gasped for breath in her final seconds, her tiara fallen to the floor, and the ruby ring though covered in dust, but still as beautiful and blood red as ever.

It appeared Salome, upon latching the door of the grill had activated a mechanism that ensured it could only be opened from the outside, and since it was close to the elevator shaft, they reasoned that the thick walls around her would have cut off her oxygen supply rapidly. Even if she had screamed, it was highly unlikely that she would have been heard because of these thick walls, and the area not being often used.

Her remains were gathered and interred on their family plot at the Victoria Vaults. It seemed the finality of this gave her father the closure he needed as he died barely a week after – he had hung to life only on the hope that his princess would come back to him alive.

Her mother though, never fails to tell this story – sad as it is – as a warning to young persons never to forget that life is fragile, and that they are not as invincible as they think they are.