Serena plucks the envelope from the seat, then drags out a set of passports.
She hands one to me.
I flip through the pages until I settle on the photograph. But it’s the same as Serena’s illusioned face.
“I think this one is yours,” I say and hand over the passport.
She shakes her head. “Twins.” Her voice is soft, a whisper, and she adds, “Only until we’re safe.”
That word strikes me like a plucked cord.
Safe.
I don’t know what that means.
I don’t know if it means until we’re on a boat, which I assume is what the next move is because we’re at the port, or if it means when we’re out of the country, or across the seas, or gone for a year, two, three…
A wave of nausea rolls over me.
I sink against the wall, feeling my brow furrow and my breaths grow heavier.
Serena doesn’t notice.
She’s repacking her bag with the envelope, checking how much cash she has in her coin purse, and as she does, my brain is melting in my skull.
Years.
Years away from them, my family, my world—my people.
But it won’t just be years… It will be forever, until old age comes for me, until I die.
“Hey.” Serena snaps her fingers in my face. “If you’re going to fall apart, bottle it for later. Now is not the time.”
Numb, I nod, but her words seem distant, an echo down a never-ending cave,
And my insides are still constricting.
The loss of the adrenaline, the fear of my parents, the panic of getting through the veil and out of the city—it has all faded away.
“Let’s go.”
Serena grabs the satchel and stalks out of the bathroom. The smell of roast dinners floods us in the hall—but as we pass the bar, a shout strikes us, “Oi!”
My gaze flings to the man.
His crinkled face is turned to us, hand pressing into the wooden bar. He points to an obvious sign above the hallway leading to the toilets.
“Customers only!”
Serena grabs my arm and runs out through the front door.
The winds welcome us, harsh and icy, like whips. That coastal Scottish weather beats us down the street to the port.
The gate to the walkway is shut.
The booth—sprouting from the paved road—rattles as the window slides aside.
Before the woman in the booth can even speak, Serena requests, “Two tickets.”
