Summary

Though the boys and girls slept in separate sections of the house, the arrangement was "not a rule" (170). Sometimes the children fell asleep together in the living room. The women had a separate room from the girls on the one side, and Martin had a separate room from the boys on the other side.

On the Sunday evening after Sirena learned to swim, she snuck into Martin's room. They curled up in bed together. He touched her face and kissed her. Sirena felt as if she were the sea and Martin could float inside her (171). He called her mermaid. Sirena wanted "to say something back," but could not think of the right word (171). He pulled her on top of him and promised to marry her if she loved him. After he graduated and got a job, and after Sirena turned 16, they could be...