Mara reached the old station just as the mist began to lift. Beneath the brass clock lay a letter weighted with a smooth green stone. Her name was written on the envelope in a hand she almost remembered.
Inside was a map of the river, drawn in blue ink. Three bridges crossed its winding line, and a small bell marked a place beyond the last hill. At the bottom someone had written: there is still time to take the long way home.
She folded the map and slipped it into her coat. The first train of the morning passed without stopping. For once, Mara was glad to let it go. She turned toward the water and the path she had not walked in years.