Once, Bria had gone to Cornwall with friends for a long weekend holiday. They’d found a remote cove on their hike and climbed down the rocky embankment to the water’s edge. The boys stripped to their underwear and waded out in the chilled water. The girls were less bold and walked the shorelinelooking for shells. When the girls weren’t looking the boys came up behind them, tackling them into the water.Bria spun and rolled frantically in the water, unable to find the surface. The water that had been so clear from the shore was muddyunderneath. The boy squeezed her as they spun. She could hear his laughter through the waves. Eventually,she stopped fighting and let the ebb of the ocean move her body. She was weightless, as a surreal calm came over her, even though she felt like she might die. It was the only way she could have describe her world after hearing the round woman’s words.
One child, a girl, who died.