It had a fascinating network of waterways and bridges, with the River Barrow, the Grand Canal, the Great Southern Railway and the Portarlington branch of the canal all coming together in this small County Kildare town. Emer’s uncle Peadar and his wife, Gertie, had no children of their own, but they made Emer and her pals feel really welcome. They lived in an old house close to the lock-keeper’s cottage on the canal. Emer had enjoyed her friends’ excitement earlier in the day when the nearby lifting bridge had allowed a barge to cross the Barrow, the boat suspended high above the river on a narrow stone aqueduct.As part of the Christmas fair, coloured lights had been installed along Monasterevin’s streets, attached to the walls of the tall canal warehouses. Now as Emer looked out the window of her uncle’s cosy kitchen at the night sky, a swirl of snowflakes was falling, giving the streets a fairy-tale quality.Emer cradled a mug of homemade broth in her hands as she turned back to her friends, who were all seated at the kitchen table.
