For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.
- Luke, VIII. 17 (King James Version)
Mocrocks Beach, Washington State
April 4th, 2004
"This is stupid," grumbled Dave as he followed his friend James down to the beach.
"No, come on!" James called back over he shoulder as he ran ahead. "You gotta see this!"
Dave didn't really want to see whatever it was. He didn't even want to be outside, because it was cold and windy and the sky was full of iron-coloured clouds that threatened to drizzle. It was a typical April day, which meant it was spring, and Dave hated spring because it wasn't ever sure if it wanted to carry on being winter or get a move on and get to summer already. And he lived near the coast, which made it worse. The wind blew stronger from the sea and made you wear hoodies and jackets even when the sun was out.
He should have been inside, doing homework or watching TV. Anything a normal kid did. But then James had come round and said he had to come down to the beach with him. And James was the kind of boy whom, if you tried to attack him with logic, skirted around it with his own sideways logic that you couldn't argue with even though you knew it made no sense. So Dave knew it was pointless to try.
So here he was, following his idiot friend down to the beach. The wind was blowing hard, making him fold his arms over his chest in spite of wearing his hoodie, and it definitely looked like it was going to rain. And the seagulls were screaming, which irritated him even further,
This was so stupid.
His mood wasn't improved when he stumbled over the Step. That was the informal name for where the concrete slabs of the pavement ended and the dirt path down to the beach began. Time and weather had eroded it to the pint where it was just an inch shorter than you expected it to be, and a little loose as well. It took two massive steps and a lot of flailing for the boy to get his footing back, and his ankle stung in protest.
"Come on!" shouted James, who had gotten further ahead.
He could have left him. He could have just turned around and walked back home and left the idiot out in the cold and the wind. Who cared about some dumb thing he'd found on the dumb beach on this dumb stretch of coast in this dumb village?
Dave huffed, shoved his hands in his pockets and followed.
