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Kya Meets Tate
One day Kya takes Pa's boat out into the marsh and gets lost. A young man named Tate, who was friends with Jodie, helps her get back home. -
Ma Leaves
When Kya is only 6 years old, her mother leaves her family. Her two older sisters and oldest brother leave soon after, and she is left with only Pa and her brother Jodie. -
Jodie Leaves
After caring for Kya for a while, Jodie decides he can't live with Pa any longer and he must leave. He abandons Kya. -
Kya Goes to School
Social services shows up at Kya's house and force her to attend school. She goes for one day and is made fun of for not knowing anything. She decides that she will never go back to school again. -
Pa Leaves
When Kya is 10, her father leaves and doesn't return. She starts selling mussels to support herself and learns how to garden. -
Tate Leaves
Tate leaves to go to college in Chapel Hill, and promises to return for the Fourth of July. He breaks his promise and never comes back to her. -
The Feather
One day, Kya finds a rare feather stuck into a tree stump as if it was left there for her. The next day, she finds another one. She soon finds out the person leaving the gifts is Tate. They start meeting each other every day, and he teaches her to read. -
Tate and Kya Kiss
After the kiss, they start seeing each other romantically. -
Kya Meets Chase
Kya is now 19, and starts developing an interest in Chase Andrews, a popular teenager in town. They start dating, and she gives him a shell necklace. -
Chase Leaves
Tate comes back to Kya to find her with Chase. However, he finds out that Chase is actually engaged to another woman. He tells Kya. -
Jodie Returns
Jodie comes back and brings the news that Ma had died two years before. -
Happily Ever After
Tate tries to see Kya after the trial, but is stopped when he is told that his father has passed away. When Kya sees him after the funeral, she realizes that she has loved him all along. They start a life together. When Kya is 65, she passes away. -
Chase's Body is Found
Two young boys find the body of Chase Andrews at the bottom of an abandoned fire tower in the marsh. The police begin a murder investigation. They have difficulty finding any evidence at the scene. -
Kya is Arrested
The Sheriff finds information on Kya and arrests her. She sits in jail for two months and then goes to trial. Despite having evidence against her, she is ruled not guilty and is released. -
Kya is Guilty
After Kya's death, Tate is going through some of her old stuff when he finds a box of old poems. He finds one poem that describes murdering Chase Andrews, and he finds his shell necklace. This proves that Kya was the murderer. Tate burns the poems and throws the shell necklace into the marsh.