Sound (31 page)
Authors: Alexandra Duncan
“S
teady,” Ava says. “Stay low enough to keep out of the gusts.”
“I'm on it.” I sit in the pilot's seat of Ava's sloop, squinting against the harsh Pacific sunshine. A small flotilla appears on the horizon, ships and pontoons linked together in the beginnings of an enclave. Beyond them, acres of plastic and debris float on the ocean's surface.
“Is that it?” I glance at Ava, sitting in the copilot's seat.
She nods. “That's New Gyre.”
I turn back to the shimmering sun and watch the ships growing as we make our approach. A flock of gulls circles one of the masts. “Do you think it'll be anything like the old one?”
“Maybe yes, maybe no.” Ava frowns. “Have you changed your mind?”
“No,” I say. Our hold is full of medical suppliesâvaccines, antibiotics, splints, painkillers, and skinknit. I'll set up shop here, and in a month's time, Ava will be back with more of what I need. I won't save the world, but I'll break off my own small piece. I'll see that cuts don't become gangrenous, that broken limbs can heal, that pain doesn't accompany the birth of a child or mar a man's last days. I'll do what I can.
I look up at the blue, blue sky through the viewport. Somewhere out there, Cassia is making people whole again, and here I'll do the same.
We land on the traders' docks. They aren't on the seaward-facing side, where they were so many years ago before the storm, but something about them tickles my memory. The air smells like salt and home. If I close my eyes, I can see my
manman
waving to me from the roof of our old house. I can see Kai racing over the footbridges and the boats going out at dawn. I will pay the price of living and remember. I will remember and I will heal.
I open my eyes. High above the rooftops and gently swaying masts, a red kite soars in the breeze.
First and foremost, many thanks to my husband, Jeremy, for encouraging me, understanding when I was terrible about cleaning the cats' litter box while on deadline, and re-reading this manuscript more times than I thought was humanly possible You are my favorite human and my best friend.
Also, a huge thank-you goes to my editor, Virginia, and everyone at Greenwillow Books, including Preeti Chibber and Gina Rizzo. Thank you for continuing to push me and challenge me to be a better writer with every draft, and for all of your encouragement and support. Thanks as well to my agent, Kate Testerman, who confirmed my suspicion that Miyole needed her own story and who cheered me on, along the way.
My mother, Leslie Golden, consulted with me on medical aspects of the book, and for that, I am incredibly grateful. Any factual errors or liberties taken with medical science are my own. She is also the person who taught me to live with compassion and showed me how to stand up for what I believe in, even if I was afraid. Mom, you are an incredible woman.
The inimitable Stephanie Perkins, Megan Shepherd, and superlibrarian Lauren Biehl have my thanks for serving as first readers and cheerleaders. There would be no book without you guys. Thanks as well to Nathan Ballingrud, Meagan Spooner, Beth Revis, Alan and Wendi Gratz, and all the writers at Bat Cave and the Chocolate Lounge. You are the reason I am still sane.
Finally, thank you to all my colleagues and to the patrons in the Buncombe County Public Library system. Your support along this crazy writing journey has meant the world to me, even if I can't help turning bright red and hiding behind the circulation desk when you talk to me about it. Just know that is my introverted way of saying thank you.
ALEXANDRA DUNCAN
is an author and librarian. She lives in the mountains of western North Carolina with her husband and two monstrous, furry cats.
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This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used to advance the fictional narrative. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real.
SOUND
. Copyright © 2015 by Alexandra Duncan. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available.
EPub Edition © September 2015 ISBN 9780062220196
ISBN 978-0-06-222017-2
15 16 17 18 19 Â Â Â
PC/RRDH
   10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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