Page 91 - DivineSparkRisingFinal
P. 91
Nicholas Boothman
Chapter 11: Algarve
Before sunrise, Jinji boarded the southbound
high-speed train at Oriente station. Glass. Steel.
Polished floors that echoed under her boots.
Screens flickered overhead, the air sharp with
coffee and bleach. Doors hissed shut.
Hood low. Laptop shut. Back row.
The Tagus flashed silver in the first light.
She didn’t turn. Didn’t need to.
Eyes were on her. All the way south. Vineyards
blurred past, then olive groves, then the slow rise
of Algarve hills. At Faro she switched to a bus with
cracked vinyl seats and rattling curtains. By Lagos
the air was salt and citrus. She pulled up Carolina’s
ping again: raw coordinates, no spiral, no words.
Just numbers.
91
