The door shut behind us as soon as we walked outside. We didn't even get scared anymore; we were used to Anne's modes and manners by now.

I touched the door handle-- it was freezing cold, and the entrance was locked.

"I guess we are supposed to understand that we are done here," I told Emma, taking the key out of the lock and placing it back in my pocket.

She only nodded, pointing somewhere into the fog-covered distance. The apparition was lingering above Walter Byron's grave, barely visible in the mist.

Emma led the way this time, through the rain and fog, our feet splashing loudly in the muddy stream that once had been a path leading through the heather bushes.

When we reached the grave, the ghost was gone. Just the faintest scent of roses, entwined with the smell of heather and moss, hinted at her presence.

"What now?" Emma asked. "Where do we go from here?" She was looking around, unsure of which path to follow.

"Come, I'll show you where she disappeared last night," I told her, ignoring the visible paths and walking on the heather plants.

"That part of the cliff is off limits Liam. We are not supposed to go there. That's why we didn't take you there the first time we came over here with Dean. It's not officially closed, but they say it is more dangerous than this side," said Emma.

"Just a bit farther, please, we are nearly there," I begged.

She followed me without saying anything else, and after a few more minutes of careful walking, we reached the hole where I nearly fell the night before. Seeing it now, in the light of the day, made me realise that I was quite lucky to pull myself up so easily last night. It looked much bigger now, a crumbling hole overgrown with plants, large enough for someone Emma's size to fall through.

Emma, looking pale and a little shaky, knelt down and examined its edges. The moss covered rock was crumbling away under her hands too easily in some places.

"That's how Anne died...?" she mused, making the sentence a half question.

"Do you think she fell through?" I breathed, surprised. Was it all as simple as that?

"Maybe. Into one of the caves underneath. Or," she said, standing up and leading me further, to a place where the cliff ended suddenly in a narrow, deep chasm, completely invisible until you reached its very edge, "here. Why they had never found her body, I don't know. Most likely, they never looked for her properly, being convinced that she had run off with her painting teacher. They say that Jasper was staying in Stornoway at the time, and the fact raised too many suspicions... Maybe Walter had something to do with her death in the end... he could have covered the evidence and later killed himself because he felt guilty..."

"It's possible," I admitted, not feeling entirely sure about it. From what I knew about the story, Walter was not here when Anne vanished; that's why they only noticed her disappearance and started looking for her after a few days... But what Emma was saying was possible. Anything was possible, and nothing could ever be sure, not after all this time that had passed since.

Maybe the malicious gossip of the bored people of this small island destroyed one happy marriage and brought two young people to despair and insanity. One of them was probably still trying to clear her name from the shame she was accused of unjustly, more than one hundred years ago. The thought made me shudder.

"So this is it? Is this what she wanted us to see? Do we leave it here?" I asked Emma, searching her serious, sad eyes for answers.

And I knew the answer before she said it out loud. "No. We go down to find the cave under that hole. If there is anything we can do for her, we must at least try."

I didn't know Emma well enough yet, but I had already noticed that there was no point in arguing with her when she assumed this tone. She would have things done her own way.

"Lead me to the stairs then," I said pointlessly, as she was already on her way.

We treaded carefully back in the direction of the path, then followed it to the other edge of the cliff, where the ancient staircase descending to the beach started. The wind was getting stronger and louder the closer we got to the precipice, throwing the rain at us from all directions at once.

Looking down on the treacherous stairs would have made me lose the last bits of determination and courage if I still had any left. But my body was running on pure adrenaline now, drained of all other feelings and sensations.

I could hear the high-pitched yell of the strong wind that ricocheted back at us off the incredibly high waves, multiplied and distorted, accompanied by the roar of the deranged water. The sea seemed to be determined to swallow anything that would fall in it in mere seconds and never give it back.

I looked at Emma one last time, giving her the possibility to change her mind, but she looked still determined to go down, pale and trembling, but decided. I shook my head and sighed.

"Let me go first then," I told her. "Be careful, please."

Without any warning, she leaned on her tiptoes and kissed me on the lips, shyly, tenderly, making some of my, and even her own colour return.

"Thanks, Liam," she whispered.

Then we descended the old stairs carved in the cliff. Slowly, considering each move we made, taking the slippery rock one step at a time. The wind was even worse than the obnoxious rain. It was trying hard to blow our feet from under our bodies and throw us into the waves crashing against the cliffs and sharp rocks deep down. At some point, it got under Emma's jacket, blowing it up and threatening to carry her away, making her look like a huge yellow bird about to spread its wings and fly away... It took all of my strength to steady her.

Finally, my feet reached the bright pebbles of the beach, and I pulled Emma down the last couple of stairs. Then we just stood there for a while, side by side, breathing heavily, watching the waves which, like long tongues of a sea monster, were now licking the beach, eating it away.

The loud clatter of the pebbles, dragged and rolled up and down the shore by the rough water whipped into froth by the incessant wind, made it difficult to speak or hear. But there was nothing to say. We made our way towards the cave in silence, watching as the mud that had covered my shoes on top of the cliff was now washed away by the freezing sea water.

We reached the cave's entrance completely drenched, not even our rain jackets were much of a help against all this water pouring over us. Like the last time, the cave was dark, even darker today, without the sunshine. It took me a while to adjust my sight to its gloom. The floor, which had been dry before, was now covered in ankle-deep water. But it felt warmer and quieter this time, the cold and noisy wind didn't reach inside. My ears welcomed the sudden silence. If there wasn't the layer of water on the floor, it would feel like a pleasant place to be at the moment.

"Is it safe to go further in?" I asked. "Won't all of the caves be under the water?"

Emma observed the layer of water for a moment, then shook her head.

"I don't know, Liam. But we are here now. Shall we just try and see? We've come all this way..."

"Ok," I agreed, "let's try. But if it looks too dangerous, we will just go home and come back another time."

"Fine. Let's go then," she said, her typical smile, angelic and mischievous at the same time, playing on her lips. The smile that made it impossible for me to refuse her anything.