“We should escape now. We could jump from the bridge…” she says. Tirad looks down. The bridge is at least three times the height of a man and it is long… Too long for Tirad to be able to estimate it. He throws his head down in shame.

“You know I can’t swim properly,” he says.

“Yes, you can! You may not believe it…but I saw you last night! There is nothing wrong with you. Someone must have messed with your mind when you were a child lying to you about your heart… From what I have seen, you seem completely healthy!” she says trying to convince him. But Tirad is scared. Even if she is right, he doesn’t have the guts to jump. He can barely look down. He doesn’t find it in him to jump from this distance and swim to their boat. Of course, Dalia could do it but he won’t be able to pull it off. He is not even sure if they should escape. Deep in his heart, he wants to find out more about Armina and this ship, to learn more about Lady Parsana’s past. But he can’t tell her these, there is not enough time. Pejhan orders her to go and Dalia steps on the bridge. She is obviously crossed. Tirad follows, holding the cable rail and putting his feet on the floating planks. The bridge trembles with the guard’s and Dalia’s steps, waving all the way through. It seems shaky and unstable. Tirad can hardly keep his balance and thinks he will fall off the bridge at any moment. He is scared and wants to turn back. But Pejhan blocks the way and orders him to move on and get to the other side quickly. He can’t do it. His legs are locked out of fear and his palms are pressing on the cable so tensely that they might bleed. He wants to sit there on the planks and cry. But he knows he needs to pull himself together. Nothing will happen. At worst, he would fall down into the water and Dalia or the guards will get him. He doesn’t look down but can’t look at the long bridge ahead. Pejhan reaches him. Helps him with his bag and then takes his hand encouraging him to step forward. Tirad feels ashamed of him and of Dalia who has already reached the other end of the bridge, watching him.

Tirad wishes he could close his eyes and when he opened them he would be at the end of the bridge…at the end of everything. He wishes he could go back to the beginning, to the moment he had crushed the water snake under his heel. He could have excused himself from going to the Circle meeting and postpone it to after cleansing himself in a Spawn-Scorching ceremony. If he had delayed his entrance to the meeting, he would have never given that cursed mission. He would have stayed in the Saviour Island… He wishes he never had left Mart alone in Oxan and had stopped him… He wishes Hurmaz was still alive and could go back to him, begging for his forgiveness… He continues wishing for impossible things and before he knows it, he is at the end of the bridge. He presses Pejhan’s hand and steps on the deck. He sits on the deck floor for a few minutes and takes deep breaths. He doesn’t want to throw up in front of Pejhan and the guard. Dalia stands beside him and puts her hand on his shoulder. She is not mad at him anymore, perhaps she knows now that she was wrong expecting him to jump from the bridge. Tirad’s pale face had told her he didn’t dare to do such a thing. Dalia takes his hand and pulls him up. They walk behind Pejhan towards the cabins of the central Parsana Ship. They go down three stories and stop before a cabin. Pejhan tells Tirad to go in while they would wait outside.