He had vanished when Nora was thirteen, out beyond the reef in weather no worse than a hundred other mornings. His body hadn’t been found, and no broken hull had washed in; no final proof had ever surfaced. The gap left behind had been wide enough for superstition and loose talk to do their work.
The story the village chose was the one Nora hated most. People said the Serpent Line sometimes showed itself before the sea took what it wanted. They said Thomas must have seen it that morning. Within months, the tale had grown teeth, and worse, it had become a way for people to start making money.