Shifting (Swans Landing) Read Online Free PDF

back yet,” I told her gently. When Miss Gale’s mouth curved into a deeper frown, I added, “But she should be back soon. She can’t stay gone forever.”
    I didn’t know if my words were the truth or not. Sailor’s mother had never come back, neither had any other finfolk who had left Swans Landing over the years. One by one, they had all disappeared, and no one came back despite the songs we sang each month on the night of the new moon.
    But this was Sailor Mooring. If anyone could come back, it would be her.
    Miss Gale swallowed, an action that seemed to take a lot of effort. I frowned and asked, “Have you had anything to drink lately?” I looked around for a glass or a bottle or some evidence that Miss Gale had been drinking—or even eating—but there was none.
    “I’ll be right back,” I told her.
    I hurried to the kitchen and filled a tall glass with water. Then I pried open the salt shaker and dumped half of the canister into the glass. I stirred the water as I walked back to Miss Gale’s room.
    “Drink.” I helped her to move into a sitting position and then held the glass while Miss Gale drank.
    When she had taken several large gulps, she leaned her head back, sighing. Already, her skin looked better, closer to her normal color. Her eyes were brighter and more focused.
    “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Do you need to see a doctor?”
    Miss Gale closed her eyes and shook her head. “Doctors can’t help our kind, Dylan, you know that. Ever since Sailor left, something hasn’t felt right. It’s like when her mama left all those years ago. Except this time I’m too old to fight back.”
    I reached for Miss Gale’s hand and squeezed. “I miss her too. She’ll be back soon, I know it.”
    Miss Gale frowned. “No, it’s not just that. I do miss her, but there’s something else . Something...I don’t know. Something missing . Something that was here but is now gone. It’s not just Sailor. I’ve felt it in the past, when others have left the island.” She looked at me intently. “Don’t you feel it?”
    I shook my head. “I don’t know what you mean.”
    Miss Gale sighed. “Maybe it’s because you’re young. You’re stronger. But us older folk, we can feel it. Something changes on the island every time a finfolk leaves.”
    “Like the song?” I asked. Every time a finfolk disappeared, it was heard in our singing on Song Night. The song was never as strong as it had been before and the voices didn’t blend as they once had.
    “Maybe,” Miss Gale said. She shook her head again. “I’m not sure exactly what I mean.”
    She looked so tired and frail, something I had never seen Miss Gale look before. “Do you need anything?” I asked her. “I’ll stay with you if you want, until Sailor comes back. I’m sure my parents will understand.”
    Miss Gale smiled up at me and patted my hand. “No, thank you, Dylan. Jim comes by to check on me every so often, and Mara and Lake come. I’ll be fine.” She reached up to tug at my hair. “You’re such a sweet boy. But you do need a hair cut.”
    I laughed. “You always say that.”
    “And you never listen,” she said. “You and Lake both. But I reckon y’all wouldn’t be right any other way.”
    I fluffed up the sides of her pillow and tucked her blanket around her. I didn’t know if she wanted to be tucked in, but it was what my mom had always done for me when I was sick. It was comforting, at least I hoped it was.
    “Sailor loves you,” Miss Gale told me as I stood. “So I know she’ll be back, because she wouldn’t leave you for good.”
    I wasn’t so sure about that. We’d had a fight the day before she left and I had said some things to her that I wished I could take back.
    “I always imagined you two getting married one day,” she went on, smiling as she closed her eyes. “I’d be happy to have you as my grandson-in-law.”
    My stomach churned as memories of kissing Elizabeth flooded my mind. I had kissed Sailor