Larkin set sail aboard the Cooksferry Queen the following day, leaving Walden for the first time in nearly thirty years.
To those she left behind, it was a lifetime; to her, it was hardly more than the blink of an eye.
The old houseboat had seen better days, but she was seaworthy and it wasn’t long before Larkin had put her personal touches on the interior.
It was peaceful, if lonely - but for once, Larkin enjoyed the solitude.
She had time to think: about her long past, about her daughter, about their future. Larkin preferred clean breaks - even where her children were concerned - once she’d decided it was time for her to move on. In her experience, it was the better, less painful way.
Despite this, she couldn’t bring herself to stray very far, always seeming to circle back to Mistvale for a day or two where she docked at an old, disused pier. Once or twice she even caught a glimpse of Vernoraxia on the streets, before she was swallowed up by the crowd.
The farther she sailed, the more strongly was Larkin pulled back to Walden - no, she was not done with the place yet. Or it was not yet done with her.
Vernoraxia was part of it, but there were other loose ends left to tie up as well. Larkin had not forgotten.
Then there was that vague but pervasive feeling of awareness which had drawn her to the town in the first place: awareness of a power so vastly powerful, so brilliant it would outshine the sun...if she could only find it.