2) Piney Point to Teardrop Island
By the time Samantha, Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny were starting out, the sun was already starting to shine on the water like crystals. Grandmary and the Admiral were standing on the pier, watching the girls sail off onto the lake. They waved towards them, as though they were seeing them off on some voyage on the same page as Columbus's. The girls didn't reply much to the adults, as they were working to row the large boat across the wide expanse of water.
Samantha sat in the center of the boat with Nellie, helping her to man the rows. Nellie had some trouble at first, pushing the thick paddle through the waves, but she found it surprisingly easy after a few strokes. Bridget and Jenny became excited after watching her, and were begging for turns at rowing in Nellie's place.
Soon enough, when Nellie had in turn helped her sisters learn to row the boat, Samantha stepped from her place, and sat at the bow of the boat. There was a cool wind that morning, but the thick sleeves of her white sailor dress kept her warm against the elements. As the breeze rustled her dress, she slapped her hand to the top of her head to keep her white hat from flying away. And finally, after sweeping her bangs from her face, Samantha could see what lay ahead.
With Nellie and her sisters helping to stroke the boat across the lake, they were coming to perhaps the most challenging part of their journey. At one of the uppermost parts of the lake, there was a narrow stretch of water. But it was extremely thin and was littered with sharp boulders that stuck up through the water like thorns on a rosebush. The depths dipped in that part of the lake, so the water oftentimes rushed and swerved in several directions. Of course, such an obstacle was not too difficult to maneuver on a day like this.
But at night, and during stormy weather- well, that was a whole other story.
Samantha was a courageous girl, but she still got the chills thinking of what she and Agnes and Agatha had gone through that previous summer. In a thunderstorm- the awful kind where the wind rushed like a hurricane, and the water waved as though giant hands were madly sweeping it to and fro- the rocks were hidden by the great sweeping of the waves, and, if a boat should ever crash into one of them, that boat's passengers would be at the mercy of Mother Nature.
Despite Samantha's nervousness, she was still unable to shake off the butterflies in her stomach. Teardrop Island was a special place- to her, Grandmary, and even for her late parents. Years back, before Samantha came to live with Grandmary, Samantha's parents would take her by boat to the island, where they would play, have picnics, and simply relax on a blanket. It was a land of extraordinary beauty, full of waterfalls and rocks to climb and caverns to explore. There were even several patches of exotic-looking wildflowers that could be made into the most beautiful flower tiaras around.
Her train of thought was broken suddenly, when the boat turned a corner of the lake, and there lay the rocks, colored white and blue by the water that gently splashed against them.
"There are the rocks!" Samantha said, jumping back down to Nellie and her sisters. "Bridget, let me have that oar. Nellie and I need to get us through the pass."
Bridget didn't argue, as she passed the paddle to Samantha, who sat down and began to stroke through the water. She turned to speak to Nellie.
"Be careful, Nellie," she told her. "Rowing through these rocks takes a lot of concentration. Just keep your eyes open for them, and push the boat away using your paddle."
"All right," Nellie agreed, gripping the paddle tighter in both hands, and turning her alert gaze to the water, already starting to get rocky.
Following Nellie's action, Samantha took her own paddle and pushed it forward and backward, almost never taking her eyes away from the rocks. But before she knew it, the boat rocked and bumped mildly against them, like an automobile on a gravely road. But Samantha wasn't afraid. She pressed on, pushing off from every rock and kept a picture of the island in her mind.
"Look there!" Jenny said, pointing ahead.
Samantha almost didn't react; she was so busy pushing the boat between the rocks. In fact, she was concentrating so hard that she didn't notice right away that her sailor hat was starting to fall over her face.
"Samantha!" Jenny repeated. "Samantha! Over there! I think it's the island!"
That was all the signal Samantha needed to avert her gaze from the swishing, slashing water to the beauty enveloping before her.
"Land ho!" Bridget hollered. "I've always wanted to say that."
Jenny, who was also shaking in her eagerness, turned to her sister. "How long have you wanted to be a sailor?" she wondered aloud.
"Since I saw the island," Bridget answered simply, pointing at the land inching closer to their boat.
The two girls grinned, and then fell to the boat laughing, while Nellie and Samantha pushed the boat further in the direction of the island.
With Bridget and Jenny ducking down in the boat, Samantha could more easily see the island. So, this was the place that had been haunting her summer dreams, she thought to herself. Well, here it was- with its glorious waterfalls and gleaming boulders and lush green grasses, flourishing with summer fever.
Samantha smiled. She didn't remember the island being this beautiful. It was almost like it knew that the girls were going to visit and was actually waiting for them to step on its sandy beach. And for just a moment, as she watched for the beige sparkle of sand, she thought she saw a pretty little violet sprout right where her eyes fell…
"Samantha!"
She heard Nellie's cry when she suddenly felt the boat jolt gently against the shore, embedding itself into the sand. Samantha swept her hair from her face, and dropped her oar, standing up slowly to see what happened. Her mind was still so dazed from seeing the island, and even now she couldn't believe they were there.
Jenny leapt on the bow of the boat, and then, lifting her skirt, jumped onto the damp sand. "Like you said, Bridget, land ho," she said, pointing at her.
Nellie put down her own oar, and, taking Samantha's hand, they helped each other from the boat, bringing their feet down on the beach. Samantha wobbled on her feet, the last ounces of dazed joy starting to leave her. Nellie squeezed her friend's hand tighter, and walked with her further onto the sand.
"Samantha, are you all right?" Nellie asked her. "Are you feeling sick?"
Samantha shook her head, letting go of Nellie to readjust her sailor hat and the whistle hanging from around her neck. And instead of speaking, she turned on her feet, her eyes wide and bright as butterfly wings. Her feet seemed to move with a will of their own, going deeper into the island with an unwavering purpose.
Nellie and her sisters looked on, both at Samantha, and at where they had come to. But Samantha was moving so fast into the island, that they could only follow her, and find out soon enough the magic of this mysterious haven.