We move through the garden, past bushes bowed with the weight of their flowers, past thorns and overgrown greenery. By the time we reach the forest, the first dark boughs shielding us from the sun, strange birds are overhead. They fly low. Lia looks up at them.
‘I’ve seen them before,’ she says. ‘But never so close.’
Keep walking, we tell ourselves. Keep walking.
We leave behind our clothes, our weapons, our loved things. We do not even take canteens to hold our water. All the objects stay behind, and we rejoice.
It is possible there are no safe places left. It is possible that we can create a new one with our rage and our love, that other women are already out there, doing the work. We are going to meet them. They will recognize us, no longer children, and hold out their arms to us. They will say, What took you so long?
Onwards and onwards, our weary feet. The sound of the birds grows, as if they are swooping lower, as if they are circling. But we are deep in the forest by now. Close to the border.
We watch for snakes. We watch for animals. Gnats or mosquitoes swarm around us and we barely notice. A new noise joins the ones above, a different type of bird with a droning call, but somehow we are still not afraid.
At the border, the rusted barbs of wire, we weigh it down with branches until we can step over. It takes us some time, but we clear it. We stand for a second on the other side of the territory, breathing in the new air. Somewhere in the distance there are voices, but they seem very far away. We look back towards the house, but it is long gone. All we can see is the forest. The cool leaves, the branches.
It is fine. We are fine. We jump on to a felled tree trunk. We wrap our arms around each other. Without noticing it, touch has become easy again. We put our hands everywhere.
There is far to go, and so we do not stop for long. We push the branches with our hands, and beyond each branch is another step for us to take, even as the sound of the birds and the voices grow louder, even as we move further away, even as the leaves cut out the sunlight, and that is its own miracle. The three of us, taking step after step. Our own world somewhere past it, should we walk far enough. We move into it with no fear.
Acknowledgements
Many brilliant people have helped me bring this book into being. First off a huge thank you to Harriet Moore, my agent and friend. I am so grateful for your support and faith in me. Thank you to my editors Hermione, Margo and Deborah; I loved working with our fierce international coven. A big thank you also to Hannah, Simon, Grainne and everyone else at Hamish Hamilton UK/Canada, Doubleday and David Higham Associates. I couldn’t ask for a better team behind my book.
I am also particularly grateful for the support from everyone at the White Review, and from the team behind the Stylist and Virago short-story competition; it was wonderful to finish the edits for my novel in the calm surroundings of The Hurst. I’m thankful too for my former colleagues at Team VSU, who have always been enthusiastic and encouraging about my work.
Many amazing women gave me the courage and motivation to write this book. I would like particularly to thank Lauren Marie Smith, and the dynamic duo that is Krista Williams and Sophie Thomas, for guidance, friendship and wine when needed.
A special thank you to my parents for their love and belief in me over the years. Thank you to Annys and to Beverley, to whom this book is dedicated. And thank you finally to Christopher, for everything.
THE BEGINNING
Let the conversation begin …
Follow the Penguin Twitter.com@penguinUKbooks
Keep up-to-date with all our stories YouTube.com/penguinbooks
Pin ‘Penguin Books’ to your Pinterest
Like ‘Penguin Books’ on Facebook.com/penguinbooks
Listen to Penguin at SoundCloud.com/penguin-books
Find out more about the author and
discover more stories like this at Penguin.co.uk
HAMISH HAMILTON
UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia
India | New Zealand | South Africa
Hamish Hamilton is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published 2018
Copyright © Sophie Mackintosh, 2018
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Cover photograph © Julia Wengenroth Photography
ISBN: 978-0-241-98302-7
The Water Cure Page 19