When bullets began flying at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday, strangers Wayne and Jessica found themselves in the same nightmare scenario. They couldn't find their three-year-olds.
In the chaos, separately, they desperately scanned the green. People who'd gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah screamed and ducked. Others ran. Some didn't make it far.
The 10-odd minutes that followed were the longest of their lives.
Wayne's body was acting as a human shield for his eldest daughter, but his mind was elsewhere: with his missing daughter Gigi.
We had to wait all that time for the gunshots to stop. It felt like eternity, he tells the BBC.
Unbeknown to him, Jessica's gaze had caught on a little girl in a rainbow skirt, confused, scared and alone - calling out for her mummy and daddy.
She couldn't protect her own child, so she'd protect this one, she decided. She smothered Gigi's body with her own, and uttered I've got you, over and over again. They could feel the moment a woman about a metre away was shot and killed.
By the time the air finally fell silent, Wayne had become convinced Gigi was dead.
I was looking amongst the blood and the bodies, he says, growing emotional.
What I saw - no human should ever see that.
Eventually, he caught a glimpse of a familiar colourful skirt and found his daughter, stained in red - but okay, still shrouded under Jessica. Her son too would soon be found, unharmed.
She said she's just a mother and she acted with mother instincts, Wayne says.
[But] she's a superhero. We'll be indebted to her for the rest of our lives.
It is one of the incredible accounts of selflessness and courage that have emerged from one of Australia's darkest days.
Declared a terror attack by police, it is the deadliest in Australian history. Dozens were injured and 15 people - including a 10-year-old girl - were killed by the two gunmen, who police say were inspired by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).
More people undoubtedly would have been harmed if it weren't for Ahmed al Ahmed, a Syrian-Australian shop owner who intervened during the massacre, wrestling a weapon from one of the attackers despite being shot multiple times.
Other acts of bravery were witnessed that day, with lifeguards and citizens rushing to aid those in danger, showcasing the spirit of courage and community in the face of terror.
Thousands of Australians flocked to donate blood, dwarfing previous records, and countless off-duty first responders responded to the call for help.
State premier Chris Minns praised the heroics of ordinary Australians, stating that amidst the chaos, their bravery shone through, reminding everyone of the goodness in humanity even in dark times.
