Summary

Throughout her expedition with her three companions, the narrator sometimes felt “a rush of emotion” while listening to the women talk and Denise sing (116). Suddenly she understood “what Anthea called beauty” (116). Four months later, they returned “to the village (116). Although they had found two viable sites “to move to,” the women were “happy in their new houses” (116). Everyone agreed not to move “until the cold store” ran out (116).

Not long later, Anthea fell ill. Afraid of dying like Mary-Jane, she taught the narrator how to plunge a knife into the heart to kill her should her pain become too great.

Thirteen years after their escape, the women “decided to move” (117). They “built ten houses” at their new site (117). The narrator shared a house with Greta, Anthea, and Frances. Many of the women had paired off into couples. The narrator still did not fully...