In present day, Marlene reflects on her intense childhood friendship with Charlene, who she met at camp, as well as her equally intense dislike of Verna, the developmentally disabled girl who lived next door to Marlene's childhood home. Marlene recalls how she and Charlene were initially mistaken for twins at their childhood camp. They bonded over this, and began to share secrets. Marlene shared the secret of the awful Verna, who her mother had often forced her to play with. To the girls' shocked surprise, Verna then arrived at camp as part of a group of disabled children. In present day, Marlene ignores contact from Charlene, who she hasn't seen since the camp. But one day, she is summoned to the hospital where Charlene lies in her deathbed. Charlene is asleep but has left a letter for Marlene, asking her to fetch a particular priest, as Charlene needs to make a confession. Marlene goes looking for the priest, knowing all the while what the confession is, and that once she sends the priest to Charlene's side, she may need to flee her life - a life that she has deliberately kept empty and disconnected, having refused to allow anyone in. This is why: at that camp, finding themselves swimming in the same lake as Verna, Charlene and Marlene mischievously held the girl under the water until she drowned. It wasn't premeditated, but they knew what they were doing. They were never caught, and never spoke of it again.