That answer left Nora strangely relieved, because it sounded human rather than mystical. Yet Mrs. Wren added one more detail before she let her go. “Long ago,” she said, “men used to go out to the reef for work; no child was allowed to ask about it.”
Nora turned back. Mrs. Wren would say no more except that there had once been an iron structure out there, and noise, and men convinced that the sea could be made useful. The old woman crossed herself after saying it, which only made the memory feel heavier.