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36 The rain had pushed the tide up the shore somewhat and had left a
residue of tiny, crablike creatures and kelp along its edges, as well as the
familiar scent of the sea, which Carol had always liked. As they approached
the house her mother nudged her, telling her to look toward the library
window. There was Mr. Linden, his dark frame nearly doubled, sitting in the
window seat, completely absorbed in his reading.

37 “The Dahomians seem a bit strange,” Carol told him after he invited
them in. “But colorful.”

38 “It was the author’s opinion of them,” Mr. Linden said. “I’ve met a lot of
them in my travels, and they’re not very strange these days.”

39 Mr. Linden gestured toward the stairs that led to his library and went to
the fireplace, where he began to straighten the logs with a poker. Carol went
up the stairs, past the ancient yellowed wallpaper and the corner table, where
a pipe smoldered in an onyx ashtray.
40 She opened several books to see if they contained pictures and found
one, A Narrative of the Cruise of the Yacht Maria Among the Faroe Islands.
The book looked interesting, although at first glance she could see that there
were a number of words she would have to look up. She was about to start
downstairs when she noted the same book from her previous visit on the seat
in the window where Mr. Linden had left it.
41 Carol picked up the book and opened it to the bookmark. It was still on
page 201, but the text now ended farther down the page than she had
remembered.

42 For a while Esteban’s mind had wandered as the dolphin circled
about him, sometimes lifting its sleek body from the water so that it was
merely a dark silhouette against the distant sky. The rhythm of the sea,

of the waves brushing across his body, had lulled him into a pattern that
made time seem to slow to the easy pace of the tide. When Esteban
stopped and lifted his head, he saw for the first time that there were
trees growing on the island. But when he turned back toward the shore
a sense of panic filled his chest and his heart began to beat quickly.
Could he make it back? The dolphin swam around him, the late-
afternoon sun sparkling on the water dripping from its body. Its mouth
wide open, it appeared to be smiling. Esteban was worried, and his leg
began to ache again as he turned for the shore.

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