When Riel opens the doors, a strong, salty breeze blows through. I am about to step out when I see the water down below. The back of the house is propped high on stilts. There is a narrow widow’s walk with a ladder at one end. Below is a thin stretch of black boulders. And then the water. More and more water.

“It’s high tide,” Riel says as if this is not a great thing. “There’s a dock on the other side of the inlet. It’s far, but Kelsey used to do it, so it can be done.”

“There’s an envelope in my bag in the kitchen. Will you keep it for me? It’s important.”

Riel nods, then turns back to the water. “You can swim, right?”

We hear men’s voices coming from the front of the house. Heading out that way is not an option. And we need to go now.

“Yeah,” I say. “I can swim.”

RIEL AND LEO disappear back inside as Jasper and I head down the ladder to the rocks. We kick off our shoes and toss them under the house, picking our way across the sharp stones and into the icy water. The shoreline is gooey, sucking our feet down with every step. But the dark bay in front of us is smooth. Like black glass.

“There,” I whisper, pointing to a dock in the distance. It’s hard to guess how far away it is. Maybe better not to know.

Trying to swim with clothes on is like trying to get through thousands of hungry, prying fish. I keep waiting for that moment when it will get easier, when my body will acclimate to the drag. But each stroke stays a struggle. Jasper is an even worse swimmer than I am. I find myself considering what I will do if he can’t make it all the way.

But then I think of my mom. She had been right that day at Crater Lake. I am a decent swimmer—not half-bad endurance. And like Riel said: this swim can be done. Kelsey did it. I can too. And I will find a way to help Jasper if I need to. I will do what has to be done.

IN THE END, the dock is both closer and farther away than I think. It takes much longer to swim there, but then, suddenly, we have arrived. I follow Jasper up the slimy, algae-covered ladder and out of the water. We stand, shoeless and soaking wet in the darkness, staring back at the divide that separates us from whoever it is that is after us this time.

“You ready?” I ask, not really sure where it is I intend for us to go. But knowing that we must head somewhere.

Jasper nods, doing his best to seem confident, though I can feel that he is not. “Yeah, lead the way.”