A Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar

Author:Adiba Jaigirdar
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-09-22T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Seven

9:00 A.M.

1 DAY, 17 HOURS, 20 MINUTES

VIOLET

VIOLET WOULD HAVE never guessed that Hinnah was the bravest person of all four of them. But there was bravery—not just in what she had endured, but what she had taken away from it. She may have been the youngest among them, but the things life had dealt her somehow made her appear the oldest.

The two of them were only steps away from the wireless operator’s cabin now, but Violet couldn’t go toward it. She was turning Hinnah’s story over and over in her head.

“Will you go back and find your friend?” she asked. “After all of this?”

Hinnah shook her head again. “I don’t think so. I want . . .” She trailed off, like she wasn’t really sure what she wanted at all. “I want a future,” she said finally. “One where I make the rules for myself. I want . . . that freedom.”

Violet could understand that. After everything Hinnah had been through, she deserved to be happy.

“You know, you’d be welcome to come with me to Croatia,” she said, realizing that she meant it. “With me, and Marko.”

Hinnah smiled, and it seemed to illuminate her. “Really?”

Violet shrugged, though now that she had said the words aloud she felt even more eager about her offer. She could already imagine their life—her, Hinnah, Marko. They would make a strange family, but a perfect one. “I’m not sure about circuses in Croatia, but . . . yes, if you wanted to.”

“If I wanted to,” Hinnah mumbled under her breath, like she was really considering Violet’s offer. “I’ve never been to Croatia.”

It was Violet’s turn to smile. Even though Hinnah hadn’t given her a resounding yes, it was enough to fill Violet with satisfaction. They would both have the futures they had always wanted soon—and they would be side by side to achieve it.

There was a message from Marko waiting for Violet. Even though it had been only days since she’d read Marko’s last letter, somehow it felt like an eternity. The message was scribbled in Jack Phillips’s messy, barely legible handwriting, but it still filled Violet up with joy.

Can’t wait to see you, it’s been so long. —Marko

Violet was finally going to be reunited with Marko; his message confirmed that. Nothing could take away from the happiness she felt at that realization.

Jack the wireless operator pulled off his headphones with a groan, stopping his work for a minute to glare at the machine in front of him.

“Everything all right?” Violet asked, though she knew she was supposed to be blending into the background. She certainly shouldn’t be striking up conversations that could potentially risk their mission. She knew that if she let her guard down, or if he suspected she wasn’t who she said she was, things could go awry.

“Nothing, ma’am. Just a lot of messages.” He waved her off, like she was nothing, before picking up his headphones and listening to the noise coming from it hesitantly. Grabbing a pen, he began to scribble something out, mumbling under his breath.

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