Tao by John Newman Page A

had come loose and the boat was drifting away from the bank.
    That’s when I really should have started shouting properly, but at first, it didn’t seem so serious. I probably could have stepped out of the boat and paddled to the edge but I hesitated because I didn’t want to get my feet wet and, before I knew it the boat had drifted way out onto the lake.
    Now I shouted for help as loud as I could but the wind blew my voice away and pushed the boat further and further from the shore. The boat had no oars and kept turning in circles and the little bobbing waves were a lot choppier out here. I hadn’t even got a life jacket on. I sat frozen to the spot on the middle seat, holding tightly to the sides as the boat drifted across the grey lake.
    Where was everybody? Why wasn’t the boat properly tied up? Why was I finding it hard to breathe? I thought I might jump in and swim to the shore but I was too afraid.
    “Help! Help!” I screamed. I tried to stand up but the boat wobbled so much I had to sit back down or fall in. I tried to keep my head and stay calm but it’s hard to keep your head when you are going to drown!
    “Help!” I screamed, and tears started pouring down my face. Where was everybody? Was there nobody left in the world to save me? I could see my mobile phone on the floor beside my bed – why hadn’t I taken it with me?
    I tried to think what Dad would do. He always kept his cool in a crisis. I took a deep breath and told myself to calm down. Relax. But it was easier said than done and the stupid boat just went round and round although at least it wasn’t sinking. Someone will come soon, I told myself. Just stay in the boat. And yell!
    “Help! Help!” But the wind just blew my yells up into the sky, even if there had been someone about to hear me.
    After what seemed like ages, the boat drifted right across the lake, which wasn’t very big, and thumped into the bank on the far side. Which meant I was safe. I climbed out and stood on the soft mossy bank and looked back across at our house. My legs felt wobbly, but I didn’t care. I was still alive. All I had to do was walk back around the lake and think up a good excuse for what happened. The sun had come out and it was already hard to remember why I had felt so frightened.

Chapter 23
    The sun didn’t stay out for long. I hadn’t got very far when a damp mist came in from the sea and covered it up. I could no longer see the other side of the lake, but I knew if I followed the lake shore I would get back to the house in the end. It was just that the ground was very boggy and my shoes kept sinking into the mud. I tried to step on tufts of grass, but it meant I was taking a long time.
    I wondered if they’d noticed that I was gone yet. Was Kate back and going hysterical? Had they seen that the boat was missing? Were there search teams out looking for me yet?
    Probably not. Mimi and Conor were probably still playing Monopoly, while Sally sulked in her bedroom and Kate and Paul were still at the dentist. I was all alone in the world and nobody cared.
    Then suddenly I was standing at the edge of a river. A fast river flowing into the lake. I hadn’t expected that. It had just appeared out of the mist. I didn’t know what to do. Should I try to cross and maybe drown or walk all the way back around the lake the other way? I was getting cold and my clothes were all wet from the mist and I was sick of walking. I didn’t want to go back all the way that I had come, but I was afraid of the rushing river. I had come too far to drown now. Maybe there were stepping stones further on or somewhere I could cross safely.
    I began walking up the side of the river. It was hard going because the ground climbed steeply and soon I was walking through trees. They looked creepy in the grey mist, reaching down their branches to slap my face and tripping me up with their roots. A bird burst out in front of me and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest.
    It was getting