A Flight of Souls
Page 56
I allowed myself to indulge a little in this precious discovery before turning my thoughts to more serious matters.
Where is she now?
I had already scoured the island thoroughly and found neither of them. The remnants of Julie here on the sand were disturbingly close to the water. For all I knew, they could’ve both leapt in and swum away… but where to? What would happen if they reached a land inhabited by humans? I hardly needed to answer the latter.
I supposed I had to hope that a shark or something would swallow them before they reached another shore, because I wasn’t in the mood to go on an endless chase for them. They could be anywhere by now. It felt like I’d done nothing but hunt for the last twenty-four hours, and I was still feeling weak from the grief of losing my family.
I lowered myself to the sand and gazed out toward the waves, the sun beating down over my head. Then I turned my thoughts back to myself. Never mind Julie, where will I go next?
I despised the idea of returning to The Oasis. Although it was my home, staying there all alone surrounded by memories would drain me completely.
But where else?
Who do I have left in the world?
As I rubbed my temples wearily, I realized that Benjamin was the only non-jinn friend I had. Benjamin. I wondered where he was now. Then I thought of his home, The Shade. It was not that far from here. Perhaps I could visit and see if anyone there knew what had become of him. The more I mulled it over, the more appealing the idea became.
It’s about time I saw the legendary island for myself, anyway.
Where is she now?
I had already scoured the island thoroughly and found neither of them. The remnants of Julie here on the sand were disturbingly close to the water. For all I knew, they could’ve both leapt in and swum away… but where to? What would happen if they reached a land inhabited by humans? I hardly needed to answer the latter.
I supposed I had to hope that a shark or something would swallow them before they reached another shore, because I wasn’t in the mood to go on an endless chase for them. They could be anywhere by now. It felt like I’d done nothing but hunt for the last twenty-four hours, and I was still feeling weak from the grief of losing my family.
I lowered myself to the sand and gazed out toward the waves, the sun beating down over my head. Then I turned my thoughts back to myself. Never mind Julie, where will I go next?
I despised the idea of returning to The Oasis. Although it was my home, staying there all alone surrounded by memories would drain me completely.
But where else?
Who do I have left in the world?
As I rubbed my temples wearily, I realized that Benjamin was the only non-jinn friend I had. Benjamin. I wondered where he was now. Then I thought of his home, The Shade. It was not that far from here. Perhaps I could visit and see if anyone there knew what had become of him. The more I mulled it over, the more appealing the idea became.
It’s about time I saw the legendary island for myself, anyway.
