The Sirens

Mary wakes to find her feet stinging from water leaking into the hold of the ship. She notices that Eliza’s skin is “sharp and crusted as if with scales” (172), and she fears what is happening to them.

The ship stops in Rio de Janeiro, and the women are allowed on deck. The captain tries to sell the casks of rum he stored in the hold. He is unsuccessful, and the women note their rations are dwindling. Mary wonders if it hurts to drown.

Saturday, 16 February 2019

Lucy wakes to find herself on the beach, near the edge of the sea. Her skin “is already burning and tightening from the water’s poison kiss” (177). She’d run to the beach after seeing the picture Melody showed her of her mother’s face. Lucy’s mother, Maggie Martin, is Judith Wilson; Jess is Baby Hope.

Max calls and says he hasn’t spoken to Jess recently but would like to. Lucy feels certain that Jess is her sister, not only because they share their father’s ears but also because she feels a biological connection.

1999, 3 January

Jess thought that losing her virginity would be like shedding a snakeskin, “revealing a shiny new layer beneath” (181). Instead, she is afraid Max loathes the sight of her.