They call it that because for most of the day... They call it that because for most of the day it's
in the shadow of Hag's RockThere are tear-tracks
on their pale round faces, but they will soon be
gone because by now they are too terrorized to cry
If you can believe this, you can see the rest
A giant crow flies slowly past them, upside-down,
its wings outstretchedIt speaks to them in their
Daddy's voice
Lo-Lo falls and cuts her knees on the shells
Tessie pulls her to her feetIt
isn't the upside-down talking crow they are afraid
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of, nor the way the sky sometimes lenses from blue
to a sunset red before going back to blue; it is
the thing behind them
Even with its fangs it still looks a little like
one of the funny frogs Libbit used to draw, but
this one is ever so much bigger, and real enough
to cast a
omega planet ocean watches shadowReal enough to stink and shake
the ground each time it jumpsThey have been
frightened by all sorts of things since Daddy
found the treasure, and Libbit says they dassn't
come out of their room at night, or even look out
their windows, but this is day, and the thing
behind them is too real not to be believed, and it
is gaining
The next time it's Tessie who falls and Lo-Lo who
pulls her up, casting a terrified glance behind
her at the thing chasing themIt's surrounded by
dancing bugs it sometimes licks out of the air
Lo-Lo can see Tessie in one bulging, stupid eye
She herself is in the other
They burst onto the beach gasping and out of
breath and now there's nowhere to go but the water
Except maybe there is, because the boat is back
681
again, the one they have seen more
black and white chanel cambon handbag for sale and more
frequently in the last few weeksLibbit says the
boat isn't what it seems, but now it's a floating
white dream of safety, and besides - there is no
choiceThe big boy is almost at their heels
It came out of the swimming pool just after they
finished playing Adie's Wedding in Rampopo, the
baby-house on the side lawn (today Lo-Lo got to
play Adie)Sometimes Libbit can make these awful
things go away by scribbling on her pad, but now
Libbit is sleeping - she has had a great many
troubled nights lately
The big boy leaps off the path and onto the beach,
spraying sand all aroundIts bulging eyes stare
Its fragile white belly, so full of noisome guts,
bulges
The two girls, standing with their hands linked
and their feet in the running boil of what Daddy
calls the little
rolex submariner watches for sale surf, look at each otherThen
they look at the ship, swinging at anchor with its
sails furled and shiningIt looks even closer, as
if it has moved in to rescue them
Lo-Lo says We have to
Tessie says But I can't SWIM!
682
You can dogpaddle!
The big boy leapsThey can hear its guts slosh
when it landsThey sound like wet garbage in a
barrel of waterThe blue fades from the sky and
then the sky bleeds redThen, slowly, it changes
back againIt's been that kind of dayAnd
haven't they known this kind of day was coming?
Haven't they seen it in Libbit's haunted eyes? Nan
Melda knows; even Daddy knows, and he's not here
all the timeToday he's in Tampa, and when they
look at the greenish-white horror that's almost
upon them, they know that Tampa might as well be
the far side of the
rolex watches on sale moonThey are on their own
Tessie grips Lo-Lo's shoulder with cold fingers
What about the rip?
But Lo-Lo shakes her headThe rip is good! The
rip will take us to the boat!
There's no more time to talkThe frog-thing is
getting ready to leap againAnd they understand
that, while it cannot be real, somehow it isBetter to chance the waterThey
turn, still holding hands, and throw themselves
into the caldoThey fix their eyes on the slim
white swallow swinging at anchor close to them
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Surely they will be hauled aboard, and someone
will use the ship-to-shore to call the Roost
"Netted us a pair of mermaids," they'll say"You
know anyone who wants em?"
The rip parts their handsIt is ruthless, and Lo-
Lo actually drowns first because she fights harder
Tessie hears her cry out
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