Page 75 of Unravelling: Aria & Crispin
Her sister huddled close, knees drawn to her chest, too cold to cry.
Aria shrugged off her jacket and wrapped it around her tiny frame. "We'll be okay," she whispered. "I promise. There's a school waiting for you. There will be friends. A garden. It will be warm when we get there."
Above them, the cliffs loomed white and silent, the sea churning beneath.
A sudden beam of light had cut through the sea spray. A voice boomed, "Coastguard! Remain where you are!"
Relief swelled in every breath around her.
Soon, a rigid-hull inflatable was beside them, tossing down lifelines.
She helped her sister climb aboard.
When it was her turn, a tall man in orange caught her and wrapped her in a thick blanket that smelled of wool and safety.
On the cutter's deck, they gave them hot tea and dry clothes. The tea stung her tongue but warmed her hands. Her sister pressed her face into her chest and fell asleep.
It wasn't until much later, in a small holding room in Dover, that an immigration officer tried to separate them. Panic surged through her chest, the desperate grasp of her sister's hand. But someone noticed how young she was and let them stay together under the flicker of a single bare bulb.
That night, they huddled on blue plastic chairs, Aria holding her sister close. She whispered stories of home-the fields of red poppies, the sweet tang of fresh apricots-just to make the dark feel lighter.
She had to be brave.
Later, she reached under her shirt, pulled the pearls and the gold bangle from where they'd been tucked and showed them to Lule.
"For luck," she promised, "You can have them when you are older."
The days that followed blurred.
They were moved to a small white hut at Dover. It was clean and bright. The floor didn't rock beneath her feet. There were beds and warm food, and they were given soft, blue tracksuits that smelled of soap. At night, Aria lay awake on a narrow mattress with her sister cuddled beside her.
That night, her sister had whispered again, "We missed my birthday."
Aria smiled and replied, "Happy birthday." Her sister had closed her eyes and hugged her tracksuit top like it was a gift.
The shrill beep of her phone pulled Aria sharply from the deep, drowning quiet of sleep.
She startled upright, heart racing, breath caught halfway between a scream and a sob.
She reached over with trembling fingers and silenced the alarm. The dream still clung to her skin like mist, thick with salt and fear and the weight of that little body pressed against her chest.
She looked around. The train hummed steadily beneath her, the carriage half-full now, most passengers sunk into their phones or nodding off under travel-worn coats.
Her throat was dry. She swallowed hard.
The announcement came just seconds later.
"We will be arriving at Oxford Station in approximately fifteen minutes."
Aria leaned her head back against the cold glass. She touched her stomach, steadying herself with the feel of the quiet swell beneath her hand. She could almost feel Lule's tiny fingers in hers again, could almost hear the waves, could almost-
But not now.
Now, it was time to begin again.
She exhaled.
Fifteen minutes.
