by Liz Kessler
We stayed a moment longer, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Mine centered on how close we’d come to a very different ending.
I felt a shiver wriggle through me. I didn’t want to think about that — I didn’t want to think about any of it anymore. It was time to leave it all behind.
I flicked my tail and glided through the still, blue water. “So,” I said, shuffling closer to Aaron as we swam along side by side, the sun heading slowly toward its soft midnight glow as our small group headed slowly home.
“So,” Aaron said.
“So you mentioned something about maybe wanting to do something again. Something we’d done once before. . . .”
Aaron smiled at me. “Did I?” he asked innocently. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about. What might that have been?”
I glanced at the others to make sure no one was watching. Mr. Beeston was in the boat with Millie, rowing her along. Neptune was ahead with the narwhal, leading the way. Shona and Seth were behind all of us, talking and giggling as they swam.
“This.” I stopped swimming, grabbed Aaron’s face in my hands — and kissed him.
“Oh, that!” Aaron said, smiling the best smile ever at me. “Thanks for reminding me. The only trouble is, I’ve got quite a bad memory,” he said. “I might need reminding again. Maybe a few times.”
“Don’t worry,” I said, laughing as the happiest feeling I’d ever known bubbled up inside me. “I won’t let you forget.”
Shona and Seth were smiling as they caught up with us.
“What are you two laughing at?” Shona asked.
“Oh, you know,” I said. “Just remembering things.”
Seth nudged his head back to where we’d come from. “Quite important, really, considering where we’ve come from.”
I shivered as I thought about the lake of lost memories.
“Good point,” Aaron said. “Maybe we should start practicing right away.”
“Mm,” Seth said seriously. He looked at Shona. “Maybe we should practice, too?”
Shona gave Seth a playful shove and swam ahead. I broke away from Aaron’s hand and joined her. We flicked our tails, spraying water in Aaron’s and Seth’s faces.
“You can if you can catch us!” Shona squealed, giggling as she splashed.
“You’re on!” Seth replied.
With that, the four of us swam and raced and played for the rest of the day.
And by the time the midnight sun moved across the sky to bathe the ocean in its gentle light, we had made so many new memories that there wasn’t room for the old ones anymore.
Thoughts of giant waves, evil brothers, stolen memories — or even crying mountains — were nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
As always, lots of people have been involved in helping to make this book come about. I would particularly like to thank . . .
My family, for fulfilling their usual roles of first readers, proofreaders, and general supporters along the way;
Dominique Royle, for enthusing about the midnight sun and insisting I visit Norway;
St. Ives Travel, for organizing the best research trip of my life;
the Hurtigruten ship, Midnatsol, for being absolutely stunning and amazing, and for providing ten days of incredible inspiration;
the Scattered Authors’ Society, in particular Celia Rees and Kath Langrish for one of those Charney lightbulb moments;
Lucy Coats, for the Bardic journey which led to Njord’s poem;
Amber Caraveo, for being a brilliant editor and for making the editing process such a creative, exciting, and pain-free journey;
Lisa Milton, Fiona Kennedy, and everyone at Orion, for being the perfect home for my books, and for doing so much to support them, and me;
the whole Candlewick team for being so lovely to work with and doing so much to support me and my books.
And Laura Tonge, for being a bit of all the above, and more.
www.candlewick.com
www.candlewick.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.
Text copyright © 2012 by Liz Kessler
Illustrations copyright © 2012 by Natacha Ledwidge
Cover illustration copyright © 2013 by Sarah Gibb
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
First published in Great Britain by Orion Children’s Books, a division of the Orion Publishing Group
First U.S. electronic edition 2012
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2012947246
ISBN 978-0-7636-5824-3 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-7636-6196-0 (electronic)
Candlewick Press
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Somerville, Massachusetts 02144
visit us at www.candlewick.com
