You're hungry, as you have been this whole unlucky season. You suck a ribbon of seaweed, to make it last. Your sister drifts a ways ahead of you. A voice calls from above. Your heave yourself out of the [[water]]."Ship coming." Your heart and stomach clench. You swim to the furthest grotto, to find your weathered [[box]].[[Pearl ropes]], first.You blacken your eyes and smear a glittery paste of crushed shells along your limbs. Now the [[mussels]].You give your lips and nipples a hard pinch with these. They swell and pinken. Finally, the [[honey]].You gulp it. It keeps your voice from breaking. You return to your sisters, who are massed on the tallest boulder. [[Look to Nara.]] [[Watch for the ship.]]You loop them around your waist, your brow, your wrists. Now the [[blade]].You wet it, then scrape beneath your arms until you are smooth. Now the [[paint]].She lies, withered, wheezing, beneath a canopy of faded fronds. She doesn't have much time left. If you are successful, he needs to be brought to her immediately. [[Watch for the ship.]]It's almost near enough, now. "For Nara," Sussuri murmurs. [[Remember Hansa.]] [[Breathe deeply.]]She'd come so damned close. You still see seafoam when you close your eyes. [[Breathe deeply.]]Sussuri squints. "Now." [[Song bursts from your throat.]][[The ship slows.]]Your voice climbs ever, achingly higher. You shudder with the effort of holding your tempting [[pose.]]A faint cry goes up from the ship. Men scurry. [[Think of Nara.]] [[Sing on.]]"Our souls are more valuable," she'd always loved to insist, "because we earn them." Your voice cracks at the memory. [[Sing on.]]And on. [[But]][[the]][[ship]][[passes]][[on.]]Everything within you sags. You sit with your sisters in silence. Finally, Sussuri [[speaks]]."We'll get the next one. I'll go scouting tomorrow." [[You can hear Nara breathing, beneath her canopy.]]It's an empty sound.