Into the Water A Novel

'Again! Again!'The men bind her again. Different this time: left thumb to right toe, right thumb to left. Therope around her waist. This time, they carry her into the water.'Please,' she starts to beg, because she's not sure that she can face it, the blackness and thecold. She wants to go back to a home that no longer exists, to a time when she and her aunt satin front of the fire and told stories to one another. She wants to be in her bed in their cottage,she wants to be little again, to breathe in woodsmoke and rose and the sweet warmth of heraunt's skin.'Please.'She sinks. By the time they drag her out the second time, her lips are the blue of a bruise, andher breath is gone for good.