Page 72 of The Sunrise Sisterhood

‘No, no. You are very welcome to join us.’ Marta swept an arm out, indicating the wide beach. ‘Plenty of room for everyone in my summer yoga studio.’

‘You might regret that,’ Skye grinned, handing her the money for the class. ‘Is there a level under beginners?’

Marta laughed. ‘You’ll be fine, don’t worry. How is everyone at home this morning?’

Her eyes were soft with kindness and Skye had an urge to put her head on the yoga teacher’s shoulder and tell her everything.

She blew out a breath, unsure where to begin. Liz had been nowhere to be found this morning and she’d heard Clare crying as she’d passed her bedroom door. Guilt niggled her; perhaps she should have stayed at home and offered to look after Ivy for a while?

Marta held a hand up. ‘Don’t answer that. Yoga is about making time for you. We can suspend everything else for now. Just relax. Enjoy being with us and with yourself.’

‘Thank you.’ Skye swallowed the lump in her throat, realising just how good that sounded.

‘You’re very welcome.’ Marta nodded. ‘Set up your towel here at the front where I can keep an eye on you.’

Skye bit her lip. ‘I’d rather go at the back where no one can see how bad I am. I’m a complete beginner. You’ll have to go easy on me.’

‘Always,’ Marta smiled. ‘But it’s you who must go easy on yourself. My job is to guide you in your practice. There is no competition here, no ego.’

After Marta had moved on to the next person, Skye laid out her towel and peeled off her hoodie.

‘Welcome to sunrise yoga, everyone.’ Marta clasped her hands in front of her in prayer position and bowed to the class. ‘As ever, I would ask you to turn your phones—’

Somewhere close by, a phone began to ring and everyone started to laugh. Skye congratulated herself on leaving her own phone on silent.

‘—off,’ Marta finished. ‘So that we may focus.’

The phone carried on ringing. Heads began to turn in Skye’s direction.

‘I think it might be you?’ The woman next to her pointed at Skye’s tote bag.

She grabbed her bag, horrified to have brought attention to herself, and whipped out her phone. ‘Sorry, everyone!’

It was Jesse. Skye groaned inwardly; they were supposed to be speaking to each other this morning and she’d forgotten. She quickly declined the call, turned the phone to silent and typed out a quick text message.

Sorry, can’t talk now after all. I’ll be in touch when I can.

A reply appeared immediately.

I feel like we’re losing you to your UK life. You are coming back, aren’t you?

Skye stared at the screen not knowing the answer to that and dropped the phone into her bag without replying. Instead, she recalled Marta’s words from a few moments ago: she was going to make time for herself, everything else could wait. She turned her focus back to the front of the class.

‘Thank you for joining me for beach yoga to welcome in this beautiful morning.’ Their teacher extended her arms to include all of the group. ‘Please take a seat, get comfortable and let’s begin with some cleansing deep breaths.’

Skye sat, copying everyone else, feeling like she must stand out a mile as someone completely clueless. But breathing was nice. As she relaxed, she noticed the colours of the sky and the sea. She heard the call of the birds and the swish of the water. She became more aware of the beauty of her surroundings and her tiny place in it.

‘Let us begin by setting your intention for today’s practice.’ Marta’s voice was melodic and clear. ‘What are your hopes for today, what is it you wish to achieve? Press one hand to your heart, and inhale, and exhale.’

Skye followed Marta’s instructions, to stretch and twist and elongate the spine, her eyes shut as she dug deep to find the answers. Beside her, she was conscious of the deep, even breathing of the other yogis, all of them intent on their own practice, no one caring that her version of the lotus position was stiff and ungainly.

What did she hope for? A sign maybe? An end to her deliberations, to the constant balancing equation in her head. On one side was Jesse and her life in Uganda. Together, they could build the Hope Foundation, expand its reach, grow the services they offered, extend the education programmes to adults – there were so many possibilities. She could do something meaningful. And on the other side … Skye squeezed her eyes shut, trying to think what other sort of life she could have, one without Jesse, but her mind was blank.

There was a soft warmth at her shoulder, and she opened her eyes. Marta was crouched beside her.

‘And now the other,’ Marta instructed the whole class. ‘Right hand to left knee, turn the head to look over your left shoulder. Breathe.’

Skye realised the class had moved on and they were all doing something new.