Summary
SARAH PAYNE'S last message in the world was a note to her mother Sara, scrawled on paper in her childish, eight-year-old hand. "To Mrs Payne," she wrote, with that quaint love of titles children have, "I love you so so so so so so so much, love from Sarah." Hours later, the loving, childish voice was silenced. Sarah was abducted as she played with her two brothers and sister, just 100 yards from her grandparents' house, and subsequently murdered.
There was nothing special about that last day, except that it was the last and no one knew. Only after tragedy did the prosaic become meaningful: Sara Payne was cross when she arrived home from work because her husband, Mike, had overslept and hadn't done the laundry, despite the fact that they were leaving for the seaside. Dirty dishes were piled high in the sink, toys littered the floor, and the children ignored the chaos to play. By the time they all piled into the car, the atmosphere was strained. But it disappeared quickly, that top layer of irritation, blown away by the sea breezes as easily as the wind blows the fluff from a dandelion clock.See the full content of this document
Extract
Interview: Sara Payne: Survival Skills
Always soft-hearted, Sarah hadn't liked the cross words, soothing the friction with the balm of childish declarations in the note she left propped on a desk in her grandparents' house. She was just at the age where she was beginning to take an interest in her hair and clothes, but it was her family that was still her first priority. "Her kindness of spirit, her awareness of other people's feelings... that was one of the most amazing things about Sarah," says Payne.
She had hugged Sarah when she found the note. Then the whole family had gone for a walk on the beach. The adults decided to continue, but the two boys, Lee, 13, and Luke, 11, asked to stay and play. Could Sarah and six-year-old Charlotte stay too? Sara and Mike hesitated. They had never let the girls play alone before. But the boys would look aft...See the full content of this document
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