Wheeling Gull Isle xvi. i knew of a girl with roses in her hair and blood on her lips

The dread had seeped into her soul the closer they ventured to the island. The sand and ocean called to her in ways that she had never wanted. Strand was long gone, and that stung Padma. She was hurt by her friends disappearance and the way they had left things. Strand has saved her life. And now she was gone.

The Island was hers now, or at least her to protect. But she didn’t want it. That’s why she left, but now.... we’ll now she was back.

Padma spent as little time on the island as she could. Instead of being a refuge she found it to be painful lingering for to long.

She still lacked the base she had found in Strand. The only rock that could have held her together. Her sister was gone. Yet another lose in her life.

As usual a distinctly foul mood encased Padma as she stood on a precarious rock overlooking a river. The summer had shrunk the but it still supported life, as all water did. Her aim was fish. Her favourite prey.

A keen eye tracked the rippling water looking for something to catch her fancy. So focused, she missed keeping track of her surroundings and any within it.