It was a calm, clear night when I went back down to the sea, Mum’s apple crumble and ice cream a cold comfort in my stomach. Nine days, she’d said, and here I was. Maybe I’d already gone mad. After all, who’d seen her, apart from me? Col hadn’t even noticed her passing through.
It wasn’t hard, keeping her second condition, as I sat on the sea wall with my legs dangling over the edge, hugging myself while I let my tears drop into the water. Harder to keep to seven, they flowed so fast, but I hoped she’d forgive me.
I thought I saw my seal, but she was gone before I could blink—and then Freyja was beside me, her wetsuit half undone once more.
“You didn’t forget,” she whispered, and she was crying too.
I pulled her close to me, the soft warmth of her flesh revitalizing me. “You’re like a
