Starting from Scratch
Page 33
‘I’ll come back the way I came.’
He’s not Australian—his words are clipped. Maybe English? He climbs halfway up the rise before turning and facing me again. He pushes back his shoulders as if he’s taking a breath. Surely he wouldn’t …
He runs as far as the distance allows, then leaps over the water, at least two metres wide, and lands with both feet on the rock that splits the river. For an instant he teeters, but then he pitches forwards, taking hold of the rock with both hands. I suck in a breath as he climbs to the top. His body tense, he jumps, legs scissoring in midair, over the second stretch of water. He lands with bent knees, on the plateau of rock at the base of the cliff.
My heart is beating fast as I walk to the edge of the cliff and, once again, wind an arm around the sapling.
I look down. He looks up.
His eyes are blue, bright as summer skies.
ISBN: 9781489278807
TITLE: STARTING FROM SCRATCH
First Australian Publication 2020
Copyright © 2021 by Penelope Janu
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