Page 57 - The Midnight Library

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ey had, according to the article, bought the pub cheaply and in a

neglected state and then renovated it with a mix of a modest inheritance
(Dan’s) and savings and bank loans. e article presented a success stor y,
though it was two years old.
She stepped outside, wondering whet her a life could really be judged from

just a few minutes aer midnight on a Tuesday. Or maybe that was all you
needed.
e wind was picking up. Standing out on that quiet village street , the
gusts pushed the board a little along the path, nearly toppling it over. Before

she picked it up, she felt a buzz from a phone in her pocket . She hadn’t
realised it was in there. She pulled it out. A text message from Izzy.
She noticed that her wallpaper was a photo of herself and Dan somewhere
hot.

She unlocked the phone using facial recognition and opened the message.
It was a photo of a whale rising high out of the ocean, the white spray
soaking the air like a burst of champagne. It was a wonderful photo and just
seeing it caused her to smile.

Izzy was typing.
Another message appeared:

This was one of the pics I took yesterday from the boat.

And another :

Humpback mother

en another photo: two whales this time, their backs breaking the water.

With calf

e last message also included emojis of whales and waves.
Nora felt a warm glow. Not just from the pictures, which were

indisputably lovely, but from the contact with Izzy.
When Nora backed out of her wedding to Dan, Izzy had insisted that she
come to Australia with her.
ey’d mapped it all out, a plan to live near Byron Bay and get jobs on one
of the whale-watching boat cruises.