The great wave swallowed Sweetheart and her sisters with remarkable speed. Her mind had not had enough time to process what had happened. One moment she was running on her feet, the next, her feet were above her as she tumbled beneath the ocean's waves.

By some miracle of chance, Sweetheart was able to climb to the surface and breach through it. She hacked and coughed and gasped for the air blessedly around her. Her sisters cried and wailed their displeasure of being at the mercy of the sea. Yet, even so, it was a delightful sound for Sweetheart to hear. If her sisters were crying, she knew at least, that they were alive.

...for as long as she could keep them so.