3
The house felt empty after Hannah left, but I refused to dwell on the morbid feelings that had been lurking in the back of my mind ever since I had seen the drowned woman. Taking Poppy for a long walk lifted my spirits. The sun was shining and there was a hint of summer in the air. Instead of following our usual route across the grassy slopes leading down to the river, we walked around the village, passing front gardens displaying clusters of daffodils, crocuses and delicate snowdrops. A few hyacinths were in flower, and I paused to admire a camellia covered in massive crimson blooms, while overhead the sky formed a bright blue backdrop against the pink blossom of a hawthorn tree. We reached our destination, a small green near the bus stop, where Poppy spent a happy half hour exploring
