The Souls of Drowned People

Chapter Thirty Two

Sheenagh woke me up before the sun had broken through the clouds. She and Aisling nearly tugged me out of my skin; it was the first time someone had hurried me into becoming a human again. Usually I was the eager one, but Sheenagh and Aisling each grabbed me by an arm, yanking me to my feet.

            A blue dress was hanging from Sheenagh’s arm. “This is for you,” she said, as Aisling danced in a circle around me, flipping my hair over my shoulders.

            “But you’re supposed to wear white.”

            Sheenagh frowned. “But you will look so nice.”

            I took the dress from her. The fabric was still damp from wherever they had found it, and I didn’t ask. Drowned people’s clothes.

            I stopped Aisling as she piled my hair onto my head. “I already have something for my hair. It’s a headband, with shells. My mother has it; she’ll bring it down to the beach for me.”

            Aisling let my hair fall into place down my back. Clearly, I was disappointing them and wrecking their fabulous wedding plans.

            Sheenagh touched my necklace. “Is it nice.”

            “Thanks. Cillian gave it to me.”

            She nodded, and patted the cut on my cheek. “I am sorry we could not give you more time.”

            “We’ll be okay. He has a boat.”

            Sheenagh nodded. “We saw him this morning.”

            I hoped he was getting some sleep before coming down to the beach. I hoped Bridget was waking him up right then, barging into his room and demanding that he start looking presentable for me. Rachael was probably making scones, my mother was probably nervously wringing her hands.

            I looked toward the beach. It was still empty.

            “They’ll come,” I told Sheenagh and Aisling. I realized how nervous I sounded, and I tried to brush it away. Nerves. I was getting married, after all. My stomach twisted.

            Sheenagh patted my arm, and turned to Aisling. “Find Ronan. It is almost time.”

            “Now?” My voice squeaked a bit. This had been the promise for months. Cillian had the boat, and it was going to be okay. But the sky was dark and the beach was silent, and I felt sick. The feeling was becoming more from dread than nerves. The terrible kind of dread, when you don’t know what you’re dreading.

            Aisling darted into the water. Sheenagh stayed with me, brushing my hair behind my ears.

            “Did you ever look for him?” she asked suddenly.

            “Who?”

            “The boy with the green eyes.”

            “Cillian said he died a few years ago. I’m really sorry, Sheenagh.”

            “I knew. He never came back, and I knew. The water was colder without him.”

            I stuck my toes into the water. It still felt the same. The pains in my stomach stopped, at least for a while.

            Ronan and Aisling joined us. Aisling had her arm slipped through Ronan’s, looking perfectly at ease as she squeezed his hand and whispered happily in his eyes. Ronan smiled at me uncomfortably.