Chapter 6
Isika's arms and legs burned as she watched Kital's boat bob on the dark sea like a small toy. She met Benayeem's eyes. The next few minutes were very important. They needed to turn their backs as was the custom. They needed to lag at the back of the procession. They needed to keep Ibba beside them. And then, rather than filing back into the village, they needed to escape at the last moment, through Jerutha's brother's fishing hut, and race to the old boat hidden behind the rocks at the harbor's edge.
The crowd sang the last song, the song of loss, and Isika joined in, her heart beating a hard rhythm as the three of them filed slowly up to the sea gate with the crowd, walking back into the closed village. The sky was still dark. They needed it to cover them when they rowed into
