Marina Dre's Arc

Chapter 1 of 2

Marina knelt by the empty floorboard and stared at the hollow where her bag should be. Three years of planning, gone in one quiet afternoon. On the table behind her sat a small wrapped bundle, dropped at her door without a knock. She already knew what was inside — a piece of her mother's collection, the kind only Mia would touch. Her daughter had missed the check-in by two hours. Now this. Marina pressed her palm flat against the wood and forced her breathing slow. Somewhere out there, Mia was sending a message she couldn't yet read. She unwrapped the bundle. A small shell pendant rolled into her hand, and beneath it lay a scrap of cloth marked with a single rough sketch — a ring of stones around a dark mouth of water. Marina knew the place. The old stone sinkhole at the edge of the shore, the one she and Mia had picked years ago as their last-resort meeting point. Mia had taken the bag there. Mia was telling her where to come. Marina closed her fist around the pendant, grabbed her coat, and stepped out the door.