This was what freedom felt like. The boat to America had sailed from Göteborg right on time, and the wharf had been full of people saying both hopeful and sorrowful good-byes to their loved ones. None of them knew whether they would ever see one another again. America was so far away that most people who went there never returned and were heard from only by letter. There had been no one to say good-bye to Agnes, which was precisely the way she wanted it. She was leaving her old life behind and setting off toward a new land. With her father’s check in her pocket and a fine cabin in first class, she felt for the first time in years that she was on the right track. For a moment her thoughts drifted to Anders and the boys. The church had been filled to the brim for the funeral, and loud sniffles had risen toward the roof in a sorrowful chorus. But she had not wept. Behind the veil of her hat, she had looked at the three coffins near the altar.
