‘Hen night?’ the bald one asked.

‘Something like that,’ Harri replied.

‘Barmouth, love,’ he said. ‘You’re in Barmouth.’

Harri’s heart soared. She knew exactly where Ben would be.

‘When?’ she asked. ‘What year is this?’

‘Blimey,’ the grey-haired man remarked. ‘Must have been quite a party. It’s 1989, doll.’

‘Thank you,’ Harri said, and she ran south along the high street, leaving the two bemused men in her wake.

She sprinted by shops, pubs, and restaurants, dodging tourists with lollies and cones. A boy with a Walkman almost collided with her, but she danced around him and ran on, passing a newsagent with a poster of Charles and Diana in the window. She rushed along memory lane, and the past that was now her present flew by in a blur. She raced by Margery Allen’s block and down the steps to the wooden railway bridge that crossed the estuary.

She whirled through the turnstile, and darted across the bridge without pause. She slowed when she climbed the grassy slope that led to the clifftops on the other side. The sea wind whipped her face and the sun beat down, but nothing could temper the thrill that electrified her. She was breathless and tired, but still she pressed on, and when she rounded the curve of the cliffs, she saw the Elsewhere House, where she knew he’d be watching and waiting for her.

Elsewhere. Just like he’d said in the poem. Elsewhere.

She accelerated, and as she neared the building, the front door opened, and Ben Elmys stepped out to greet her.

The sight of him stopped her in her tracks. She couldn’t believe he was real, that this was actually happening. He came to meet her, his relief visible.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth. I couldn’t tell anyone. It’s been so difficult.’

Harri took his hands. ‘You don’t need to apologize. Do you remember what I told you that day we walked up Maer Hills? You’re not alone any more. Neither of us are.’

Harri pulled him towards her and they kissed. When their lips touched she felt complete, and all the love she’d ever had for him came flooding back. They were bound by an experience so unique and profound, she was hardly able to fathom it. All she knew was that it had provoked a storm of swirling emotions that fell calm when she looked into his crystal blue eyes.

‘I’m the one who should apologize. I’m sorry,’ she whispered. ‘I’m so sorry.’

‘You have nothing to be sorry for.’

‘I lied,’ Harri confessed. ‘I lied and I sent you to prison.’

For years, she’d tried to convince herself she’d seen Ben kick Sabih off the top of the ravine, but deep down she’d known it wasn’t true. She’d lied to herself and committed perjury in court and sent an innocent man to prison because she wanted someone to suffer for her friend’s death, and she couldn’t blame herself. ‘You’ve been through so much, sacrificed so much, and you did it for love. You did it for your mother and father. You didn’t deserve any of this.’