The older man didn't answer.
Jude looked towards the women.
"Why are they all here?"
The older Jude lowered his eyes.
"Because the house remembers them too."
"Why?"
"Because you brought them here."
Jude frowned.
"I didn't build this place."
"No," the older man said. "But you opened it."
The first Sol stepped forward.
"Tell him the truth."
The older Jude looked at the boy.
"You don't want the truth."
"I want to know why you keep calling me home."
The older man's expression tightened.
"Because you belong here."
Sol shook his head.
"I don't."
"You were born here."
Jude looked at the boy.
Sol's face had gone pale.
The older Jude continued.
"You were born beneath the tree, in the house that existed before the island became an island."
Jude felt the women gathering behind him.
He could hear their quiet breathing.
"Then why did I find him on the beach?"
The older man looked at him.
"Because you sent him there."
Jude stared.
"What?"
"You sent him away."
"No."
