Time seemed to stand interminably still. They were stuck on their prison with the water lapping only inches below her feet. And there it seemed to stay. They sat marooned under a layer of steel-grey cloud that shrouded the stars. The only light Lillian could see was the lantern-illuminated windows of houses safely perched on rises in the distance. She had never felt more desperate or alone. Peter kept calling out for his mother and brother, their names stabbing Lillian every time.
The little boy tried to keep his eyes open but was struggling against his exhaustion. The baby took comfort sucking on the tip of Lillian’s finger. She wanted to resent the little stranger when the river had so ruthlessly claimed her own darling Thomas and Patricia. She hadn’t even bothered to ask her sister the
