"You all be careful out there."
"We will," Wendell said.
"Thank you for everything," Samantha said. Mr. Pryde continued to stand on the dock, watching them as the Primrose made its way out of the slip, towards open sea. Samantha thought she saw him wave before he disappeared from sight, but she couldn't be certain.
"Do you think we ever will come back?" Prudence asked.
"I hope so," Wendell said. Samantha said nothing. She rowed the oars with Wendell until the sail caught a breeze to carry them back to Eternity.
As the Primrose glided along the water, Samantha considered her future. A life with Joseph wasn't possible, nor could she stay in Eternity. She had been a criminal, a fugitive from justice, and sooner or later that past would resurface as it had when she took Joseph's potion. Next time she might not just insult Prudence and break her arm; next time Prudence or someone she cared about might end up dead.
She made her decision there in the middle of the sea. After they unloaded the supplies and everyone else went to bed, she would sneak out to the boat and sail away. Not to Seabrooke-never to there again-but to some far distant place where she could live out her days in solitude, isolated so she could never again hurt someone she loved. Prudence and Wendell and Becky and Molly would grieve for her, might even try to find her, but they would get over her departure after a while. They would move on with their lives, as would Joseph. It's better for everyone this way, she thought.
They reached Eternity as the sun went down, a shadow on the dark water forming into the familiar coastline of the island. "We're home!" Prudence shouted. She hopped around with such excitement Samantha thought the boat might tip over.
They rowed the Primrose ashore with all three manning an oar, Prudence using her good arm to paddle. They beached the Primrose in the sand and then Wendell jumped down with a rope to secure it to a boulder. Samantha helped Prudence down to the ground before getting off the boat herself. "It's too bad we couldn't let them know we were coming," Wendell said.
"Everyone will be asleep by the time we get there," Prudence added. "Maybe we should wait."
"No," Samantha said too quickly. "We should get this stuff out in case a storm comes up or some animals try to get into it. We wouldn't want this to all be for nothing."
Prudence and Wendell agreed. They each took some of the provisions with them as they trudged along the familiar path from the beach into the town. When the church steeple came in sight, Samantha felt a twinge of sadness. This would be the last time she ever saw it.