A thin mist hovered above the surface of the water when they finally reached the edge of the wide river.
It was not an official dock there were no signs, no guiding lanterns, no guards. Only a stretch of old wooden planks driven haphazardly into place, some of them darkened by age and damp, as though this place had been made specifically for those who wished to leave without being recorded.
The water below was calm, yet deep in its current. It reflected the pale sky as its colors began to shift somewhere between gray-blue and cold silver.
Valerie paused at the very end of the wooden planks.
There was a strange feeling in her chest not doubt, but the awareness that beyond this point, there would be no easy way back. Every step forward was a choice that would shape her life forever.
