January 5, 2021
The sand under Owel’s slippers was fine, gray and ordinary. It was also cold and dry as he sat inside a bamboo cottage while receiving the full force of the sea breeze. It was around nine in the morning when he left Neoma’s beach house. Today, he recalled, was the fifth day of her father’s marriage game.
He took a deep breath, anxious for two reasons: about where Neoma was keeping his parents secretly and about her calculated but risky plan.
“We’ll make a move four days from now.” He remembered her say; her bruised legs stretched out on the sofa of the living room.
“We’ll divulge details about where we are staying, and we’ll let them chase after us.”
There were several questions he wanted to ask, mainly because it seemed that she would be making a colossal gamble; li
