Part I: Runagate; Chapters 5-6 Summary

Chapter five begins with Avey, shaking off her guilt about leaving her friends, in spite of the clear evidence that she had, indeed, ruined the trip for her two friends, finally disembarks and finds herself without a taxi standing at the harbor of the island from which she would fly back to White Plains. Standing at the harbor, she is surrounded by people all buzzing with anticipation, all seemingly excited about the same thing, and all crowding on to small, old wooden boats and casting out to sea. The strangest quality shared by the people surrounding her, though, is that they all look at her, even treat her as if she belongs there, and they have known her their whole lives. She listens through the crowd for someone speaking English instead of the Patois (Creole...