Layla looked up.
Then she whispered the same name the smallest Sol had spoken.
The name that had stopped every clock.
The name that had opened the fourteenth door.
Jude felt the wooden bird grow warm in his hand.
Layla reached towards him.
"Now you remember."
Jude stepped backwards.
"Remember what?"
Her expression changed.
The sadness disappeared.
Her eyes became perfectly still.
"You were supposed to bring him home."
Jude looked towards the water.
The sea was withdrawing.
Far beyond the beach, something enormous was rising from beneath the waves.
A dark wooden structure.
A roof.
A tower.
A house.
It was the first house.
But it was not standing on land.
It was rising from the sea itself.
Jude looked back at Layla.
"What's happening?"
She smiled.
"The island is coming back."
A deep bell rang beneath the water.
The waves stopped.
The house rose higher.
Its windows were filled with light.
Then every window opened at once.
Inside, Jude saw the village.
