Skipping Stones~ A Short Story

Out of all the places, why had his mother sent him to stay with his Aunt Maude. He didn’t know anyone in this neighbourhood and didn’t want to go out and get some fresh air as his Aunt kept telling him… He’d much sooner sit and read, and stay in his room.

He didn’t belong here, and what’s more he didn’t want to stay here, as he threw yet another stone into the water. Finally giving way to his Aunts nagging he had gone to explore. He’d walked aimlessly until he found himself at the edge of the lake.

‘Dam!’, he thought, why couldn’t adults just tell you what was going on, instead of all the whispering. Why didn’t they just come out and tell him, instead of thinking they were trying to protect him. He knew things were far from right at home. Why send him all this way, out-of-the-way. Why treat him as if he was a child… He was 15 and still he got treated as if he was in kindergarten.

‘Dam his Dad!’, he thought as he lobbed yet another stone into the water. Bending he picked up another handful of stones. He knew his parents were getting a divorce but why send him out all this way for the Summer. What was wrong with him, why did his Dad want a new family, why didn’t he want to be with him.

 Why can’t things be like they were, why did he go and leave, and why did his Mother get sick?… He’d tried his best to comfort his Mother, but it had been hard, she was never a strong woman, and her health had always been fragile, but now they said it was her mind that was fragile, and she needed to rest… He knew he could take care of her.

‘Dam! Dam! …DAM!’ … as stone  after stone splashed the surface of the lake.

He’d only been with his Aunt for 4 days and already he disliked all he’d seen. The town, if you could call it a town was a main street of different shops, the usual hardware and Liquor stores, and a small cafe, the library and the Sheriff’s Office and the Church. And that was it as far as he could see

 He’d walked down to the library yesterday with his Aunt who had got him a couple of books out for him to read which he’d chosen. Later while his Aunt Maude had some shopping to do he had walked to where the school-house was. It had looked dull and run down from the outside it needed a lick of paint, there was no life as it was a Saturday and school holidays didn’t start until next week… He thought about the few friends he had back home. Well at least he had started his long Summer break one week earlier before them he thought.

 He couldn’t see any Parkland, but he had yet to explore further, and from the looks of things there was nothing worth doing around here. The only life he’d seen was yesterday Market day when the Town seemed to buzz into life as people from the outskirts set up their stalls and brought in their wares to sell, and he’d had to endure being dragged around by his Aunt, who had taken pains to introduce him to what seemed every woman in town… God how embarrassing was that.

‘Dam this place’… Splashed another pebble.

It was then he heard the noise behind him, he stopped throwing the stones to look around from the lakes edge to find a Girl staring at him half hidden in the bushes. As soon as she saw him she came out into the open… She smiled, but he wasn’t in the mood for smiling, and as he had one pebble left in his hand he thought he’d try his hand at skimming it. He had been quite good back home, but the shape wasn’t too good and as his eyes followed, it bounced twice.

 Arrh well. at least it bounced he thought.

He shielded his eyes from the Sun to take a better look at the Girl who looked a similar age to himself., She looked kind of ragged, with rolled up trousers which had a few holes in them and none too clean either by the looks as she had stains all over them, and on her hands.

 Her hair was caught back in a ponytail. The Sunlight played on her face, he saw a fresh complexion and a smirk on her lips. She smiled as she came out into the open she bent down near the water’s edge and retrieved something from the ground, to then bend back and arch her body to throw a pebble of her own across the water….

 ‘Wow’ he thought she can throw, as the pebble flew at chest height out across the lake to bounce, one,.. two,… three and yes just a fourth time as it skipped across the smooth surface.. ‘Hummm he thought Not bad for a girl’.

He watched her grinning back, and he acknowledges her grin by raising his hand to his forehead to Salute back. As he turned back into the thicket, he smiled to himself. ‘Humm maybe it wasn’t going to be so boring after all!’……

© Sue Dreamwalker 2010 All rights reserved.

This was part of a larger story I wrote 6 years ago,  still archived which I have recently revisited to edit..  I thought a change is often as good as a rest as they say.  And thought you may like this little interlude of a Short Story.. And I may well expand upon it in the future.  Who Knows?..

Wishing you ALL a wonderful Weekend..

~Sue~

 

The Picture Credit is from Google Sources  Link HERE.