I removed a small vial of sea water from my pocket. I wouldn't need
it now.
I ran to Maeve Easter. She turned again, and I handed her the vial.
"It is from the tidal pools below the house," I said.
Maeve held it in the palm of her hand for only a moment. Until Hazen
grabbed it away and threw it down against a rock. It hardly made
a sound when it shattered. The water seeped into the sandy soil.
Maeve watched it disappear and then turned away from me and brushed the
salt tears streaming down her face.
"You did the right thing," I said to my sister.
"I have just sold my daughter for a few months of my mother's
life."
