William dumped his schoolbag on
the sofa and stepped into the kitchen. '¿Mom?' he called, '¿Dad?' No one
answered. Unsurprised, he turned on the TV and collapsed on the couch to wait
for them. An image of a large family leaving their cliff-side house was
being shown, as the news reader stated that the East coast of Florida was
under evacuation due to the abnormal drawback and freak waves reported
during the last week. Will thought back to his happy memories from his
grandparent's house in Miami. He would be very sad if they lost the house to a
hurricane.
His parents arrived shortly and
they ate lunch. Will finished his homework and set out to fetch Thomas.
Thomas, his lifelong friend and partner-in-crime, lived outside town, in the
posh residential area they called "The Blocks". Together they raced
down the dirt track to the valley, dumped their bikes in a hollow bush and
sprinted up the stream, happy with the prospect of an exam-free week
ahead.
Their spirits could not have been
dampened even if the afternoon had not been so fair. Before long, Thomas had
picked up a blunt stick from the ground and was jabbing expertly at his friend.
Laughing, Will climbed the nearest willow with practised ease and tore a branch
with which to defend himself. He parried Thomas' thrust and disarmed him,
casting the stick into the stream. Then, landing lightly on his feet, he jumped
from the tree and held his own branch in front of him with his eyes closed.
Still laughing, he marched absurdly around the tree, arms outstretched and the
stick pointing straight ahead. Thomas roared his approval. 'Water witching now,
are we?' he grinned, 'I think you need a Y-shaped rod for that!' Will raised an
eyebrow in mock offence. 'Behold, William the Diviner.' At this he slackened
his grip on the branch, making it dip towards the ground.
Thomas was getting bored. He
looked around for good stone-skipping pebbles. Will dropped the stick to join
him. As he relinquished his grasp on the shaft, the branch dug vertically into
the ground, thrumming. He froze in shock. Tentatively, he tugged at the stick.
It did not budge. Hailing Thomas, he pulled forcibly at it, to no avail. The
two boys laid flat on their bellies and pressed their ears to the soil. Above
the burbling of the stream, they felt a deep rumbling. And then, with widening
eyes, they heard it.
