“Tighten your grip on the line, Arin.” said her father. They were in the water, guiding the boat. It was a sunny day, with a fresh breeze blowing through the air. Her dad was wearing his usual boating attire: cargo shorts, a t-shirt and a fishing hat. She always made fun of how goofy his hat looked, and he’d always say, “I’d rather look ridiculous for a couple hours than get burned.” She tightened her grip, and pulled on the line to angle the sail. Her dad shot her an approving glance. He didn’t need to tell her how to do this anymore. She was a pro and She loved making him proud.
“Can we take it out further today?” she asked. She always wanted to sail as far as the wind would take them. But they always had to go back to shore.
“You know what, sure kiddo.” Arin couldn’t believe it, but she didn’t say anything in case he changed his mind. She tied the line to the mast and joined her dad at the wheel.
They steered the boat further south. The further they got, the more excitement filled Arin. Sailing with her dad was one of her favorite things in the world. There was nothing else like it. She looked around, taking in the scene.
A pillow hit her face.
“Get up,” said her sister Willow. “I already told Martha you were making up your bed.”
Arin needed a second to take in her surroundings. No, she was not out on the water with her dad, of course not, he was gone. She was in the dreary bedroom she shared with her sister in their group home.
“Arin, come on, she's already in a mood today.” Willow tried to pull her up, but Arin growled at her.
“Just go tell her I’ll be down in a sec,” she said. Her sister disappeared down the hall. Arin sat in bed for a few more minutes, trying to wake up. She hated having those kinds of dreams. About the way things were before. They dug a pit in her stomach. She didn’t have time for that. She hardly ever had time for anything other than Martha’s chores for her and the other girls. Martha was the manager of their group home, and she was a tyrant. Like Cinderella’s evil stepmother on steroids. And she was incredibly strict about the girls being up and doing their chores by seven every morning.
Arin got up and made her bed, then got ready for her day. When she went downstairs, Martha was nowhere to be seen, thankfully. The other girls were already working, a couple in the kitchen making breakfast, and others working in and out of the house. Arin sat on the stool next to her sister at the counter. They had a little bit of time to eat before they had to get to work. They got to do their chores together, which made things more tolerable.
“Did you have another dream about him?” Willow asked. It startled Arin that Willow knew when she was dreaming about their past. It made her uncomfortable. She didn’t like to talk about it.
“Uh,” she hesitated. “Yeah. I did.” Willow gave her a sympathetic look, but she didn’t pry. She knew her sister. Willow was young when their dad passed. Well Arin was too, she was only thirteen, but Willow was younger. Willow didn’t sail with them often, and Arin secretly enjoyed it. She loved her sister, but she also liked bonding with her dad, just them.
The girls ate and cleaned up, then they went to go do their chores. Arin and Willow’s jobs for the day included going into town to buy paint and stuff for the garden, and then going back to the house to put what they bought to work. They had to walk, which was nice because it gave them more time alone and outside the house, but not so nice when they’re carrying buckets of paint and bags of soil.
Walking also gave Arin a lot of time to think, which she was always doing. She lived in her head. On the walk back from town, she thought about the night before. Martha had come back to the house in a terrible mood. She was furious. About what, nobody knew, but she took it out on the girls. She yelled and threw things, and made them clean it up. Arin hated how terrible she treated them. But whenever she tried to stick up for them, Martha would lock her in her room, like she did last night. What's worse than that is that she’d lock Willow in with her, even if she hadn’t done anything.
As they arrived at the house, Willow’s arms gave out and she dropped the bag of soil on the ground.
“Oh jeez,” she dropped to her knees, futilely trying to collect the spilled soil. “Martha’s gonna kill me.”
As Arin knelt down to help her sister, an angry voice sounded behind them.
“What on earth have you done?” Martha asked. “What a waste! I ought to ground you for that.” There was nothing any of the girls wanted less than to be stuck in that house twenty-four seven.
“It was an accident, I’m sorry Ms. Wallace.” Willow said, trying her hardest to appease her. Arin hated when she addressed her like that. The last thing Martha deserved was their respect.
“That’s no excuse. Clean this up immediately, then go tell Hayley and Phoebe that you’ll do their chores today. It's the least you can do.”
Willow and Arin already had a lot to do today, and adding two other girls’ jobs would be too much. Arin had to step in.
“That’s not fair, it was a mistake. One that wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t make us carry all of this on a nearly two mile long walk.”
Things escalated very quickly after that. Martha had just as much patience for Arin as Arin had for her. Arin thought about all of the things they had endured since their dad passed, and since being in the group home. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take. Which is the only reason why she pushed Martha out of her face, and grabbed Willow’s hand and ran.
Arin was not one to act on impulse. But when she thought about staying in that house for any longer, she couldn’t stand it.
So they ran. And Martha chased them, shouting.
They lived on a small island, so she knew they couldn’t go very far until they reached water. She didn’t know what to do after that.
As they neared the docks, Arin realized there was nowhere else to run. She looked around, trying to figure out their next move.
“What now?” Willow asked, frantic.
Arin was still looking when her eyes fixed on a sailboat. It wasn't much, it was a bit small and one of the sails looked tattered. But it could work. It was anchored about a hundred feet from the dock. They would have to swim. And it being out there meant that its owner was nearby, or possibly in it.
“Arin?” There was no time. She grabbed Willow’s hand and took off down the dock. The sound of shouting got louder behind them.
“Jump!” Arin shouted. The girls leapt from the dock into the water and started swimming.
Once they reached the boat, Willow managed to get up first, then she helped Arin.
“Okay,” she said. “This is more your domain than mine. What do we need to do?”
Arin picked up a rope attached to one of the sails and ran her thumb over the knot. She thought of the sailing lessons with her father. The wind in her hair, the gentleness in her father’s voice as he guided her through taking off, how exhausted she’d be when they docked. She thought of him then, how he’d want her to leave all of this behind her. All he ever wanted was for Willow and Arin to have everything they needed, and what they needed most was to get away from here and never look back. She looked up at Willow who was waiting for a response.
“Go check for any supplies,” she said. “Food, water, first aid kit, anything we’ll need.”
“Got it.” Willow went around the boat looking for anything useful. She found a first aid kit and a cooler with some snacks and water. There were also two sets of clothes. “Hey! I found a wallet. Two of them!” She walked over to her sister to look at their contents with her. “Seventy-three dollars and some change. Nice.”
“It's not a lot,” Arin began. “But it is something. I might have some cash on me too. Just whatever's in my pockets. I didn’t have the chance to grab anything.” She started getting nervous.
Willow noticed. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.”
She was always trying to find a silver lining. Before Arin could object, someone shouted at them. “Hey! Hey, that's my boat!” The girls looked and saw a couple not too far from them in the water. They looked upset.
“Let's get this show on the road, shall we?” Willow quipped. “Or show on the water, I guess.” While Arin got the boat moving, Willow dug through the cooler until she pulled a sandwich out.
“What are you doing?” Arin asked.
“I don’t want to keep their wallets.” She took the sandwich out of its plastic bag and put the wallets inside of it. She blew air into the bag so it puffed up, then she sealed it. Arin gawked at her. “What?”
“We’re taking their boat and you’re worried about their wallets?” Arin questioned.
“We just need the money, not the other stuff,” Willow pointed out. “We need to boat too, but we don’t need their identities.” Arin hadn’t thought about that.
“Okay, just hurry. We have to go.” Willow tossed the sandwich bag at the couple, who was still shouting at them.
“Sorry!” She tried to apologize, but the couple cursed at them. “We’re desperate!”
Arin got everything in its position, and soon they were off. She took one last look at the island. She was raised there. Everything she knew was on that island. But it was not her home. Not anymore. Her home was with her sister, wherever that may be.
So they took to the sea. They sailed for as long as the wind would carry them, and then they went some more. They traveled far, through sunny and stormy seas, in search of a place they could start fresh. A place like the one their father described to them when they were young.
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