She was not a superstitious woman. She was a good Catholic and she knew very well that death did not cling to objects and that if her dreams were troubled she could always pray to the Virgin Mary.

She knew what he offered. He would kill her first, with the gun or the knife or his fists if he had to, and make certain she was never trapped in that cage again. From another man this might be terrifying, that he would so blithely consider murdering his companion. But she understood that from Hatcher this was tantamount to an offer of marriage. This was what he could do for her, how he showed he cared.

I only wanted them near me because I loved them. Though, of course, it was because I loved them that Peter had to take them from me.

Because Peter promised them adventures and happiness and then took them away to the island where they died. They weren’t forever young, unless dying when you were young kept you that way for always.

Yes, because it’s obviously better if you beat each other to death with rocks instead of stabbing each other like civilized human beings,” Sal muttered, looking away.