My Sister’s Secret by Tracy Buchanan

that had seemed so rare since she’d returned from university for the Easter holidays and the three sisters had set off with Niall. Charity remembers sneaking a kiss with Niall behind the rocks as they’d got changed. She saw Faith watching them. But instead of smiling, she’d been frowning.
    Only a week later, all their lives would be shattered.
    ‘Right,’ Charity whispered to herself as the boat came to a stop. ‘Let’s do this.’ She shrugged on her old stabiliser jacket, pulling her mask over her face. She did her checks like Niall had taught her as the boat’s captain, an old man with a grey beard, looked at her disapprovingly, knowing she shouldn’t be diving alone. Yes, it was risky. But what other choice did she have? Hope had refused to even step into the sea since Faith died and Charity couldn’t go with Niall, could she?
    When she was ready, she took a few breaths then she jumped in, the bitter cold of the sea seeping into her skin as she deflated her jacket and descended. The tank felt awkward on her back, the wetsuit digging into all the wrong places. But as she got deeper, the shrieking seagulls quieting, the water misty and cold, a calmness descended upon her. She stayed still for a moment, taking it all in, the sea rippling and swaying, lifting her with it. She looked up, caught glimpses of the sun above, sparking off the surface. There was no sound but the gurgle of her snorkel and the deep low hush of her breath as she kicked her legs and glided through the water, trying to find some sign of the forest in the murky depths.
    After ten minutes, the calmness dissipated. Emotion swelled inside her. She seemed to see Faith everywhere. She struggled to breathe in the air from the tank on her back, felt panic whir inside.
    She couldn’t do this.
    She started inflating her jacket, slowly rising to the surface, trying desperately to control her emotions as she moved up and up. When she broke the surface, she pulled her snorkel off, taking quick gasps of breath. She’d been a fool to come alone.
    She looked up and was surprised to find another boat bobbing up and down next to the one she’d hired. It was gleaming white with chrome railings,
Salacia
written down its side in midnight blue. On its deck were two men.
    Niall and Dan.
    ‘Great,’ Charity muttered under her breath.
    They both looked imposing, tall and broad-shouldered in their wetsuits, Niall in his token black, Dan in a navy blue one. Beyond them, the sun peeked up from the horizon beneath wispy white clouds, the air feeling more like spring than ever.
    ‘Charity!’ Dan called out to her as Niall regarded her with hooded eyes. ‘Why didn’t you just get in touch with me, you could have come with us?’
    ‘I didn’t know you were coming this morning.’
    ‘Well, here we are,’ Dan said, spreading his arms out as he smiled. ‘You joining us?’
    ‘No, it’s alright,’ she said, swimming towards the boat she’d hired. ‘I’m going to head back.’
    ‘So you saw it?’ Niall asked her.
    ‘The forest? No sign of it.’
    Dan’s face lit up. ‘Then you were looking in the wrong place, it’s another half a mile out.’
    She paused, looking at Niall who was standing behind him, arms crossed, frown on his face. ‘Are you sure?’ she asked.
    ‘You saw the photos,’ Dan said. ‘Still want to go back to shore?’
    ‘Jim’ll take me, won’t you?’ Charity asked the old captain.
    ‘I have to be back to shore by ten,’ he replied.
    He had told her that. She peered out towards where the forest might be. Could she forgive herself if she didn’t see the forest Faith so desperately wanted to find with her own eyes? But she’d been so panicked before. Would it be the same if she went down again?
    She took a deep breath. No, she mustn’t be scared. She couldn’t miss this opportunity. So she put her hand up and let Dan pull her on to his boat as the captain handed her stuff over to Niall.
    ‘You were diving alone?’ was the