I grab my sister’s hand and pull her towards the cliff edge with me. She nods slowly in my direction, then we jump. We had agreed on our escape plan weeks ago—we were ready. We fell in slow motion, I felt my stomach rise up into my chest, my sister’s long, blonde locks stood on end as we plunged towards the frothy sea. A seagull and her chicks were nested on a small shelf on the vertical cliff; she watched us fall past her cozy home.

We hit the water with tremendous force; the cold, the briny water punching me in the face. It felt as though watery spike pierced through one ear and out the other; my ears rang and I could hear nothing else. My skirts swirled up and around my face further disorienting me as I flailed through the water to propel myself to the surface.

Junie made it to the surface first and grabbed my thrashing hand to pull me towards her. We kicked and paddled our way towards the hidden cove as the weight of our heavy skirts tried to pull us back under the water. Another face full of water sent stinging salt water down my nose, causing me to panic and choke. Junie pulled me towards the cove where Joshua had hidden our bundle of clothes, food, and money. My ears were still ringing, and I retched what seemed like gallons of salt water.

“You’re okay,” said Junie, barely audible over my ringing ears. “We’re okay. He’ll never be able to harm us again.”