Page 5

‘Here we are,’ Tom said, pulling into the dock. He jumped out and roped them off and then held out a hand to Amelia.

This is it. You’re here. The mainland.

Amelia looked around the dock. It was silent. There were a lot of boats of all shapes and sizes moored here, but no one appeared to be on them. Amelia had been bracing for something different. But it was quiet.

Maybe her grandmother had exaggerated? She’d always described the mainland as busy, fast, and overpopulated. Everywhere you looked, people. But Amelia couldn’t see anyone.

The driver handed Amelia her bag. ‘You going to be alright?’ he asked.

She nodded. ‘I’m fine.’

‘I have the money you’ll need. You know about that, right?’ he said uncertainly.

She nodded. He handed her a bundle of slippery paper. She quickly put it in the envelope, next to the letter from The Elders.

Amelia stepped off the dock, the solid ground beneath her feet feeling oddly unfamiliar. She adjusted her grip on her bag and turned to Tom.

‘You sure you’re gonna be alright?’ Tom asked.

She smiled and nodded, trying to look confident.

‘Well, I’m due down the coast, so I’ll leave you here.’ He pointed up a path. ‘That’s the way up to the city.’ And off he puttered.

She watched him go. Now it was just her. Just Amelia.

She put down her case and opened the envelope again, looking at the slippery paper. Money. There was no such thing on Solhaven. If you needed something, there was an exchange system that was based out of the Long Hall.

Food was distributed out of the building every Tuesday and anything else needed—items, skills, help—could be exchanged and bartered for. It worked on trust. You did not horde.

Once, long before Amelia was born, a woman named Mary Ellis had stolen four jars of jam. When the inventory didn’t match the expected numbers, The Elders raised concerns. An inquiry began, with residents gathering to discuss the missing jars.

Mary, apparently wracked with guilt, admitted to the theft. She was punished by banishment, placed on the side of the island that no one ever went to, to fend for herself. She was never seen again. It was a cautionary tale for anyone with greed in their heart. Give into it and you risked it all.

But this was cash. It worked differently, Amelia knew from her reading. She knew she needed to be careful with it. Once it was gone, it was gone. And no one would be there to give her more.

She skimmed the note. Careful instructions about a hotel she was to go to, another thing that didn’t exist in Solhaven, but Amelia had read about them too. It was a house that no one lived at for more than a little while. There were also instructions for her appointment with the government. A full map of the area was included. It looked very dense.

It was too much to absorb in one go. She stuck to the first thing. Tom had pointed to where she should start her journey. She took a slow breath, steadying herself, but as she made her up the main road, the air felt heavier.

She rounded a corner and there it was. A city.

The street was lined with buildings towering and tight against one another, their glass windows reflecting the sunlight in harsh, unforgiving streaks.

And cars! Only seen in pictures, Amelia wasn’t prepared for their speed and noise. They zipped by, their engines were a constant hum of noise. The streets were bustling with people—people, people, people, moving in all directions— and it felt like the entire world was rushing toward her, squeezing her into a space too small for one person to breathe.

Her heart began to race, thudding in her chest, as she tried to focus on the map she’d been given. It felt impossible. There were too many signs, too many noises, too many voices, and too many people.

Amelia’s hands shook as she gripped the envelope tighter, trying to push through the suffocating feeling. She shut her eyes against the panic. But when she opened them again, the sea of people was still there, pressing in, each face just a blur, a stranger to her. New faces. Strange faces. Nice faces. Scary faces.

She’d read about the mainland, but nothing had prepared her for the overwhelming sensory assault. A sea of people was surrounding her, each one moving in their own direction like some unseen current was pulling them along. She wasn’t supposed to be in the current. She wasn’t supposed to be part of this chaos.

She turned with every intent of waving Tom back. She shouldn’t be here.

But as she stepped back the way she’d come, she could see something terrifying. The boat was gone.

Amelia groaned. She didn’t know what to do now. The boat home was scheduled to collect her in a few days. She couldn’t go home unless she wanted to swim.

Maybe it was for the best. She had to go forward now, no choice. She didn’t want to prove Harriet right. She had to gather her strength.

She walked back up to the street, putting one foot in front of the other, trying to keep breathing.

And then a funny thing happened.

Amelia’s breathing slowed as she walked, her chest loosening with each step. The sharp edges of her panic began to dull, replaced by something unexpected: wonder.

The world around her was chaotic but hypnotic, alive in a way that Solhaven’s serene stillness never could be. Lights flickered and danced across puddles on the pavement, creating shimmering patterns. The hum of voices and traffic blended into a rhythm that felt like the city’s heartbeat.

She paused for a moment to take it all in, tilting her head back to glimpse the towering buildings that seemed to stretch endlessly into the night sky. It was overwhelming, yes, but also beautiful—a kaleidoscope of possibility that made her chest ache with unfamiliar excitement.

A hand grabbed her arm.

‘Hey! You ok?’

The voice was rough and too close, sending a shock of panic through Amelia’s chest. She looked up into the face of a man who was far too large and far too unkempt. His eyes were cold, and there was something hungry in them.

‘I just want to help, what do you need?’ he asked, his face too close to hers.

She could smell something on his breath she couldn’t identify and didn’t want to.

Amelia’s heart raced. She didn’t know what he wanted, but she could tell that it wasn’t anything good. She took a step back, clutching the bag even tighter.

‘I... I don’t need anything,’ she stammered. Her voice was barely more than a whisper as she tried to back away.

The man stepped forward, his grip tightening on her arm. ‘You look a bit lost. I’m just trying to help.’

She opened her mouth, trying to say something—anything—but all that came out was a shaky breath. She found her hand tightening on the envelope; it crinkled in her hands. The sound drew his attention down.

The man’s lips twisted into a sneer. ‘What you got there?’

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps cut through the air, and someone appeared at the edge of her vision. A woman, tall and composed with a long black coat and a startlingly beautiful face, was striding toward them with purpose.

Amelia barely had time to take the woman in before she was right there, her voice cutting through the tension. ‘Hey! Get away from her!’

He laughed in the woman’s direction and then turned to Amelia. ‘I wanted to do this nice,’ he told her.

And then Amelia felt the envelope ripped from her hands and the man took off running. Her money, her instructions, everything… gone.