I lay my head back on the pillow and look up into the night sky amazed that, if I could block out the sounds of the water, I could really be anywhere. I understand now what Alexander meant when he said that blue is his favorite color, so he can look to the sky and know that there is more to the world than this life. Looking up at this night sky I could be lying on the forest floor, looking out my old bedroom window, lying out in the field behind my house.
Somewhere someone is looking up at the same night sky as me, and while we may be a small dot in the center of the ocean, this night sky connects us with everyone else in the world. I drift to sleep consumed by thoughts of my mother, father, and Titus enjoying this night sky with me.
When I force myself to squint open my eyes I’m nearly blinded by the sunlight shining down on me. I sit up and look around the boat, which seems a lot smaller in the daylight. My face feels raw from the burning sun and my clothes are damp with sweat.
Most everyone is already awake and eating what must be our breakfast. I roll up my blanket and pack it with my pillow in my backpack.
I take a seat on the surrounding benches next to Molly and her friends. Cooper comes over and hands me a handful of berries that Kimberly had packed for us. He also hands me a handful of dry oats. When I pop some of the dry oats into my mouth I’m surprised by the sugary sensation that follows. I look down at the oats more closely and see that they have a glossy glaze on them.
“It’s cereal,” Molly says. “You eat it with milk.” She holds up a little box that holds the white milk with her cereal floating inside.
Cooper returns to me with a similar box to Molly’s and a spoon. “You open the carton like this,” she instructs pealing back the tab on the carton. “Then you add your cereal and berries in.” I do and watch the pieces float on top of the milk. “Then you use the spoon to eat it.” She says as she fishes out a spoon full of her own cereal.
I lift my spoon and fish it through the milk to pick out the cereal and berries. “Thanks, Molly,” I say and smile to her.
“I can’t believe you’ve never had cereal before,” she says in her light little kid voice. She finishes her cereal and looks up to me.
“I didn’t grow up in Sard, so I don’t know a lot of the things you probably do,” I admit to her and she ponders this idea for a second.
“So you came from Garth?” she asks softly.
“I did,” I tell her.
“Where are we going now, Adaline?” Molly asks me.
I realize that no one probably explained it to them. “There’s an island out here called Libertas. My father organized this group of people to take me and my friend Alexander there before he,” I stop myself still not fully able to talk about my father’s death. Even though it has been seven years, I just found out days ago.
“Before he what?” Molly asks innocently.
“Before his ship crashed on his last trip,” Cooper finishes, taking a seat next to me.
“And your mother?” Molly asks curiously.
“She passed too,” I say.
“So we both don’t have families,” Molly mumbles, stirring her milk with her spoon.
I put my arm around her shoulder. Molly reminds me so much of Titus. They were about the same age and just as innocent in this world. She’s surely much smarter than him, growing up in Sard. I know I couldn’t save him and bring him to safety, but I can help Molly. “We’re each other’s family now,” I tell Molly and I mean it. I’m going to protect her like I would have protected Titus, like I should have protected Titus. Molly smiles up to me and I say, “Here, I’ll take your carton and throw it away.” She hands it to me and I walk over to Mio who is sitting next to a large black bag.
“Adaline we need to talk,” Mio says not looking up to me.
“What is it?” I ask, throwing my trash in the bag and taking a seat next to him.
He hesitates and says, “I can’t promise those girls are going to get to stay with us in Libertas.”
“What?” I ask shocked. Just seconds ago I promised her we were family and now Mio wants to tell me she won’t get to stay in Libertas.
“I don’t get to say who comes and goes to Libertas. When we get there I’m just another person without a gift that is trying to get in,” Mio says tensely.
“Why is it so impossible for people without gifts to get into Libertas?” I ask.
“It’s complicated. The main reason is Libertas is somewhere for people with gifts to go so they aren’t taken in by King Renon. The rest of us don’t really have that problem so we are expected to make it work back in Garth. Plus, if you let one person in you have to let them all in.” Mio turns and scans Cinder’s boat, taking in all the people who may be turned away.
“But it’s important Alexander and I get there, right?” I ask, the gears starting to spin in my head.
“Yes,” he says questioningly, wondering where I’m going with this.
“Then you all should get to stay as a form of gratitude for getting us there,” I say simply.
“Those girls didn’t help you get there,” Mio says, meeting my eyes.
I look away and say
