Miss Nilsson woke with the taste of dirt in her mouth.
For several seconds, she didn't know where she was.
She could hear birds.
Leaves rustling.
Something dripping steadily nearby.
Then she saw the basket.
It lay on its side beneath a tree, its handle broken, wild berries scattered across the damp earth.
Miss Nilsson stopped breathing.
She knew that basket.
Her fingers curled into the soil.
"No…"
She knew these woods.
She knew the basket.
And she knew exactly what memory was waiting for her.
"Blue?"
Her voice broke.
No answer.
Miss Nilsson pushed herself upright.
She looked around frantically.
"Blue!"
Nothing.
The memory came rushing back.
She had been younger then.
Much younger.
Before Bailey Falls.
Before she became Miss Nilsson.
Before years of teaching children how to solve equations and explain things she sometimes wished she could understand herself.
Back then, she was simply Ellie.
And Blue was her sister.
Her twin.
Her other half.
