Tam runs his fingers through my hair they snag on the tangles, but he doesn’t seem to notice, he just goes on about writing letters to me and coming home as soon as he’s allowed, and I try to process every moment with him so I can keep them forever in my memory.įinally he pulls away. His arms tighten and I sink against him, my tears soaking his crisp, new shirt. “You were supposed to come with me,” he murmurs, but his voice is unfamiliar, strained, like he’s going to cry. “I want you to keep it with you,” I tell Tam. He wouldn’t tell me how much he paid, but I knew it was a lot. I felt guilty for letting Pa spend the money when I only wanted the spyglass for Tam, but he had insisted when he saw how I lingered at the table. I don’t tell him about the day I got it, wandering about the flea markets with my pa. Maybe … maybe now you can use it to look back home.” “But I was afraid that if you could see far-off places, you wouldn’t want to stay here, with me. “I meant to give this to you months ago,” I tell him as I climb back onto the roof. I slip through the window behind us into my tiny room and rifle through the chest by my bed until I find the spyglass. He’s the strong one, the one who risks everything, endures everything. “Wait here,” I command, choking back a sob. He had a dozen plans of his own: joining the crew of a pirate steamer, building his own aeroplane, or stowing away on an expedition that would take him far beyond the stifling city walls to the wilds outside.… Joining Nicholas Carr’s infamously brutal army was never on his list. Good way to see the world, right?” Tam can’t lie to me-he’s scared. Pa always frowned and called the flyers propaganda, told me not to believe what they said about the borders starting trouble. I can finally place the clothes-the crisp shirt and the boots with all their buttons-I’ve seen them in photographs, though I never knew what color they were. He said that if I joined the army, then my family wouldn’t be hungry through the winter, and with my pa not able to work what with his lungs getting so weak, and the kids … anyway, I registered.” He takes a breath, and the silence is heavy on my chest, suffocating me.Īll I can say is, “The … the army?” The sounds of the city fade in and out like a slow pulse. “That’s why I came,” he explains, talking very fast. A whole minute passes, my heart thudding in my temples. “I might not be here.” He’s quiet, avoiding my eyes suddenly. “My birthday isn’t till winter and I’ve-” “Oh! I’ve got the other piece, see?” he says eventually, holding up a similar chain that hangs about his neck. He just shrugs, and I force myself to breathe, waiting for the explanation. He must have gone to one of the antiques shops downtown. “I bought it.” It must have cost a fortune, I think. “It’s nothing too great, really,” he starts as I uncover a chain, delicate and a little tangled, with a small brass heart at the end. I begin to unwrap the tiny paper package, which is heavy for its size. He’s early there’s no way he’s done making deliveries for the grocer yet. I watch him for a minute, my confusion growing. I nudge him, and he takes something from the satchel slumped beside him and thrusts it into my hands. “I have something for you,” he says quietly, squinting up at the sun instead of meeting my eyes. Then she experiences something that radically changes her perspective on life.“What are you dressed as?” I ask with a grin, lowering myself onto the hot shingles beside him. When is God going to show up for her in this emerald paradise? The loss of her brother and the pressure of school, her audition, and whatever it is that is happening between her and Beckett, leads her to a new and dangerous vice. Once in Ireland, Finley starts to break down. Undeterred, Beckett convinces her to be his assistant in exchange for his help as a tour guide. She’s the one girl who seems immune to his charm. So she agrees to an exchange program and boards the plane.īeckett Rush, teen heartthrob and Hollywood bad boy, is flying to Ireland to finish filming his latest vampire movie. It’s the place he felt closest to God, and she’s hopeful being there will help her make peace over losing him. She decides to study abroad in Ireland so she can follow Will’s travel journal. But her creativity disappeared with the death of her older brother, Will. With an upcoming interview at the Manhattan music conservatory, Finley needs to compose her audition piece. Finley Sinclair is not your typical eighteen-year-old.
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