The Night Whispers by Mitchell Caroline

Author:Mitchell, Caroline
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bonnier Publishing Fiction
Published: 2022-07-28T00:00:00+00:00

31

‘Did you know the ocean is like a layer cake?’ Elliott looked up at Jahmelia, who was sucking the lid of her pen. They were both sitting at the kitchen table, doing their homework as evening closed in. Mum was working again, but he didn’t mind Jahmelia babysitting because she was his friend.

‘I can’t see it tasting too good.’ Jahmelia smiled.

Sometimes Elliott had a hard time working out when people were joking or not. But Jahmelia was in secondary school so she must be smart enough to understand. ‘It’s got different layers,’ he explained just the same. ‘The top is the sunlight zone, then the twilight zone, then the dark zone and the abyss.’ He turned the page of his drawing pad and showed her his sketch. Sometimes he had sunny days, but when he lay down to sleep, it felt like the abyss. But he didn’t need to tell Jahmelia that. She’d touched the abyss too. Then there were deeper parts of the ocean known as trenches. They were black and scary, full of unknown creatures, and people didn’t go there. Elliott knew what that was like too. Up until he met Miss Grogan, he thought he was the only one who did.

Jahmelia rested her pen on the table, the lid still wet from where she’d chewed it. That was icky. But he didn’t mind because Jahmelia was his friend. ‘Are you still going to be a marine biologist when you grow up?’

His eyes shone brightly as his favourite subject came up. ‘No. I’m going to study giant tortoises on the Galapagos islands.’ It made him feel warm in his tummy just to think about it.

‘That’s cool,’ Jahmelia said, playing with the braids in her hair. Then she looked at him, her lips parted as if she wanted to say more. Elliott waited. Seconds passed.

‘Are you OK, Elliott? I mean …’ She nibbled on her bottom lip. ‘Since everything … you know.’

He did know. They used to have a friend named Libby, but now she’d moved away. Bad things happened in Slayton and not everyone came out of it OK. The warm glow Elliott felt began to fade. He didn’t like being asked questions. Especially not ones like these. But Jahmelia was waiting for an answer. He squirmed in his seat. ‘I’m OK.’ He slid his drawing book back around and turned a fresh page. He wanted to draw the children. The ones with the dark eyes who hung around his bed at night.

He began to sketch an outline.

‘I’m glad you’re OK.’ Jahmelia smiled. ‘Granny said all the spooky stories you hear about in Slayton are made-up poop.’ She giggled at her use of the word. ‘OK, she didn’t say poop, but she’s a police officer so she should know.’

Jahmelia’s grandmother was Auntie Sarah’s friend, Gabby. There were bad people in Slayton, but there were good people too. It was a town of dark and light. As Jahmelia turned back to her homework, Elliott continued with his sketch. He’d drawn the children before.

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