that Nim was strong and smart, and looked after her as if she was a tiny pup.
Even when the king of the sea lions barked at her to come and fish or snuggle down at night with her sea lion family, Selkie stayed close to Nim.
Chapter Two
A LL THAT FIRST DAY alone Nim did the things that she did when Jack was home. Sometimes she even forgot that he wasn’t just somewhere else on the island, measuring the bubbles at the Hissing Stones or counting eggs in a kittywake’s nest.
But when she went to bed, the wind began to blow.
It had been the tiniest breeze as she sat on the beach to watch the sun go down and wait for the phone to ring; the barest stirring of the palms as Jack said hello.
‘Did you find interesting plankton?’ she asked.
‘Millions,’ said Jack. ‘Trillions. And some greedy birds who thought I was fishing.’
‘Far-away birds?’
‘Home birds. The big one you call Galileo swooped me in case my microscope was a fish. I told him to go home and bother you.’
Nim laughed. ‘He did! I only caught one fish all afternoon—and he snitched it right out of my hand! So I gave up and read on Selkie’s Rock.’
‘Good book?’
‘Mountain Madness.
You said it was your very favourite, remember?’
‘So I did,’ said Jack.
‘Because it’s exciting?’
‘I liked the people in it,’ said Jack. ‘I felt as if the Hero could be my friend.’
‘It’d be funny having a friend that could talk.’
‘Honk, whuffle, grunt,’ said Jack in his best sea lion voice. ‘Selkie can talk! She’s just not very good at telling stories.’
Nim patted Selkie in case that hurt her feelings.
‘Don’t forget to check the email,’ Jack went on. ‘Say I’ll answer in a few days. Unless it’s the Troppo Tourists—I’d rather meet six hungry sharks than that pink-and-purple boat!’
‘I’d rather meet a cyclone at sea!’
‘I’d rather jump in the fire from Fire Mountain . . . or talk to Nim when she hasn’t had enough sleep!’ said Jack. ‘Don’t stay up too late reading!’
So Nim blew iguana kisses into the phone, and went back to the hut, and the breeze flicked her hair and was cool against her cheek.
It was already dark in the hut, and when she checked the email, even though she didn’t know anyone in the wide, wide world who might send her a letter, it made her lonely to see ‘No Messages’ in the email box on the screen.
‘Goodnight, Selkie!’ Nim called. ‘Goodnight, Fred!’
Fred was already asleep in his little rock cave beside the hut, but there was a quiet honk from Selkie’s Rock.
Nim lay down on her mat with her torch and her book.
The waves rumbled onto the reef and mumbled across the sand. The breeze whistled through the cracks in the walls, and there was no comforting noise of Jack humming to himself or turning pages.
Nim felt excited and brave and a tiny bit afraid, but the second chapter of
Mountain Madness
was even more exciting than the first, and she thought about the Hero till she went to sleep.
The wind grew stronger. It howled at the door and screamed through the windows; it laughed at Nim because Jack wasn’t there, and she didn’t know if it was just teasing her or was going to grow to a tree-throwing, hut-smashing storm.
She switched on the torch and crept outside.
The clouds were scudding across the moon; the stars had disappeared and there was a lashing of rain. Nim stumbled and nearly dropped her torch, but she could see Selkie’s shape, darker than the night, and heard her bark, deeper than the wind.
Selkie nuzzled Nim’s shoulder and curled tight around her. The wind passed, the tail of a storm roaring out to sea, and Nim was snug in her sea lion shelter, breathing the warm smell of fur.
Next morning, coconuts were scattered over the beach and the hut had a dent in the roof, but the solar panel was safe and the satellite dish, sitting above the hut like a fatwhite coconut, was still waiting for messages to bounce across the world and
Even when the king of the sea lions barked at her to come and fish or snuggle down at night with her sea lion family, Selkie stayed close to Nim.
Chapter Two
A LL THAT FIRST DAY alone Nim did the things that she did when Jack was home. Sometimes she even forgot that he wasn’t just somewhere else on the island, measuring the bubbles at the Hissing Stones or counting eggs in a kittywake’s nest.
But when she went to bed, the wind began to blow.
It had been the tiniest breeze as she sat on the beach to watch the sun go down and wait for the phone to ring; the barest stirring of the palms as Jack said hello.
‘Did you find interesting plankton?’ she asked.
‘Millions,’ said Jack. ‘Trillions. And some greedy birds who thought I was fishing.’
‘Far-away birds?’
‘Home birds. The big one you call Galileo swooped me in case my microscope was a fish. I told him to go home and bother you.’
Nim laughed. ‘He did! I only caught one fish all afternoon—and he snitched it right out of my hand! So I gave up and read on Selkie’s Rock.’
‘Good book?’
‘Mountain Madness.
You said it was your very favourite, remember?’
‘So I did,’ said Jack.
‘Because it’s exciting?’
‘I liked the people in it,’ said Jack. ‘I felt as if the Hero could be my friend.’
‘It’d be funny having a friend that could talk.’
‘Honk, whuffle, grunt,’ said Jack in his best sea lion voice. ‘Selkie can talk! She’s just not very good at telling stories.’
Nim patted Selkie in case that hurt her feelings.
‘Don’t forget to check the email,’ Jack went on. ‘Say I’ll answer in a few days. Unless it’s the Troppo Tourists—I’d rather meet six hungry sharks than that pink-and-purple boat!’
‘I’d rather meet a cyclone at sea!’
‘I’d rather jump in the fire from Fire Mountain . . . or talk to Nim when she hasn’t had enough sleep!’ said Jack. ‘Don’t stay up too late reading!’
So Nim blew iguana kisses into the phone, and went back to the hut, and the breeze flicked her hair and was cool against her cheek.
It was already dark in the hut, and when she checked the email, even though she didn’t know anyone in the wide, wide world who might send her a letter, it made her lonely to see ‘No Messages’ in the email box on the screen.
‘Goodnight, Selkie!’ Nim called. ‘Goodnight, Fred!’
Fred was already asleep in his little rock cave beside the hut, but there was a quiet honk from Selkie’s Rock.
Nim lay down on her mat with her torch and her book.
The waves rumbled onto the reef and mumbled across the sand. The breeze whistled through the cracks in the walls, and there was no comforting noise of Jack humming to himself or turning pages.
Nim felt excited and brave and a tiny bit afraid, but the second chapter of
Mountain Madness
was even more exciting than the first, and she thought about the Hero till she went to sleep.
The wind grew stronger. It howled at the door and screamed through the windows; it laughed at Nim because Jack wasn’t there, and she didn’t know if it was just teasing her or was going to grow to a tree-throwing, hut-smashing storm.
She switched on the torch and crept outside.
The clouds were scudding across the moon; the stars had disappeared and there was a lashing of rain. Nim stumbled and nearly dropped her torch, but she could see Selkie’s shape, darker than the night, and heard her bark, deeper than the wind.
Selkie nuzzled Nim’s shoulder and curled tight around her. The wind passed, the tail of a storm roaring out to sea, and Nim was snug in her sea lion shelter, breathing the warm smell of fur.
Next morning, coconuts were scattered over the beach and the hut had a dent in the roof, but the solar panel was safe and the satellite dish, sitting above the hut like a fatwhite coconut, was still waiting for messages to bounce across the world and
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