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LIAM: Sophia!
The girl looks back. For an instant, Sophia’s strange, solemn features are clear—and then she turns away and steps into the water.
LIAM: What the hell...?
She takes a step deeper into the surf.
LIAM: Stop!
Liam runs forward, but his untied boots skid out from under him, and he falls with a yelp and a clatter of rock. By the time he scrambles upward, there is no sign of Sophia. And then the camera focuses, and Liam swears again. Sophia stands up to her rib cage in churning water. A swell engulfs her to the neck as it passes, and then she takes another step, farther from shore.
LIAM: Sophia! Come back! What are you doing? Jesus, that water’s freezing, you’re going to—
But she only walks onward, and the water folds over her. She vanishes—and does not emerge again.
LIAM: No. No, come on...
He breathes heavily, stepping toward the water before shying away again. At this point in the summer, water temperatures remain dangerously cold. Yet Liam steps closer to the water’s edge.
SOPHIA: Liam! I’m here.
He whirls around. Sophia staggers out of the mist from the direction of Mrs. Popova’s, looking dazed.
LIAM: What the—?
He looks again toward the ocean, but there is only black water and white foam, and the mist, growing thicker with every breath.
Of the girl who walked into the ocean, there is no sign at all.
4
I HEARD LIAMcalling my name, but I was still rooted in place. It took me what felt like an eternity to start moving. Longer to get my voice back and call to him. He looked at me wildly, like it was impossible that I was standing there.
Then he grabbed me in a tight hug, releasing me before I could decide how to respond. He cleared his throat, looking awkward. “Sorry. It’s just I saw—I thought I saw—”
I didn’t get to hear what he was going to say. From farther along the beach came a crash and a scream. We exchanged a look that meant something likeNow what?
Liam sprinted toward the sound, awkward in his unlaced boots. I followed a beat behind. The sound had come from the end of a spit of rock, and as we drew closer a light stuttered near the water, accompanied by a string of frantic cursing.
A small motorboat had slammed up against an outcropping of sharp black rocks about ten feet out from where we stood. Razor-sharp barnacles studded the slick rocks. The boat was taking on water rapidly, sinking, and a girl who looked about my age had flung herself up on the rock, scrambling for purchase, a heavy bag slung over her shoulder. Her foot slipped, and she plunged up to her waist in the water with a yelp.
“Hang on,” Liam called to her.
“What d’you think I’m trying to do?” she hollered back. Her voice sounded familiar. She braced and hauled herself upward again, but she was still submerged to her knees, and her hands were bloodied.
Lily and Kenny came racing into view. “What’s going on?” Lily asked, and then she saw the girl. “Oh, shit.”
The boat listed and slipped out of sight beneath the water. Beyond the girl, the water was deep, but between her and us I could see the shapes of rocks maybe a foot or two below the surface. Slippery, but better than plunging into ice-cold water. Hopefully.
Automatically, I started to push aside my fear, but then I remembered how it had rushed back into me immediately, worse than before, how it had left me frozen. So I let it stay.
“Liam, grab my hand,” I said, voice shaking but determined. I didn’t wait for anyone to object. I stepped out into the water. Liam lunged to grab me, getting his hand around my wrist to steady me as I balanced, my bare feet going instantly numb. I met the girl’s eyes. “You’re going to have to get closer,” I said.
She began to inch around the rock. I stepped out as far as Icould, Liam leaning to support me while Kenny grabbed his elbow to steadyhim.The girl reached toward me. Our hands met, her frigid, wet fingers closing over mine. “Got it?” I asked, teeth chattering.
“I’m good,” she said tightly, hiking her bag up higher, and levered herself carefully off her perch, stepping onto one of the submerged rocks. She wobbled. I wobbled. But Liam steadied me, and none of us fell. We picked our way carefully to dry land. Liam let go of my hand as soon as we were safe, but I kept my grip on the girl until she straightened up, pale and shivering.
“Thanks,” she said, giving me an odd look. I knew where I’d heard that voice before. Abigail Ryder. The girl who’d told me about my mother. I stared at her. And she—winked.
