The crossing

“Lena reached the harbour at seven, carrying bread for her aunt on the island. The small passenger ferry was due in ten minutes. Its captain, Mrs Vale, had already hung a yellow warning flag beside the ticket office. Three people waited on the quay, pretending not to watch the water. Lena stood behind them and held the paper bag against her coat. Her aunt had said there was no hurry, which was exactly what she always said when she needed something.

The harbour water slapped the stone steps with flat, impatient hands. Beyond the wall, the sea lifted its grey shoulders and let them fall. Gulls hung sideways above the boats, their cries torn into thin scraps by the wind. Lena watched a rope tighten, relax, tighten again. Each time it pulled straight, the little ferry seemed to hesitate between the safety of the quay and the restless open water.

Mrs Vale came down the steps without hurrying. She checked the rope, then the sky, then the faces of the waiting passengers. One man tapped his watch. The captain looked at it with interest, as though he had shown her an unusual insect. 'That tells you the time,' she said. 'It doesn't tell me the sea.' The man put his hand in his pocket. Lena almost smiled, then remembered the bread cooling against her coat.

For a moment the wind weakened. Mrs Vale untied one rope and stepped aboard. Lena moved forward, relieved that someone had finally decided. Then a wave rose beyond the wall and broke over the lowest steps. Water spread across the captain's boots. She stood perfectly still while it drained away. Nobody spoke. At last she looped the rope over the iron post again and pulled the knot tight.

'Not today.' The man began to argue, but Lena was no longer listening. She could see, for the first time, how far the island lay beyond the harbour wall. On her phone she typed an apology. Her aunt replied at once: Keep the bread. We can both wait. Mrs Vale carried the yellow flag indoors, and the three passengers walked back up the quay. Lena broke a piece from the loaf. It was still warm.”

Refer only to the first paragraph. Choose one answer for each item in the table. Write the four letters in order, labelling them 1 to 4. Each correct answer earns one mark.