A Word in the Breeze

One Year Ago (Plunged In The Dark II)

Zephyr sat on the beach with her knees to her chin, her wet eyes oblivious to the gorgeous sunrise. Orange light glinted off her spiky hair and tear stained cheeks.

She knew there had to be an explanation. There was something about the Dark Stretch that just didn't sound right. The horror stories, the fear. . . It was strong enough to make anyone look the other way. All disappearances were brushed off as unexplained accidents, or added to the myths.

No, she decided. Not this time. This time I'm going to do something about it.

What did she know about the Dark Stretch?

That it was forbidden and deadly. Some loved fabricating dramatic tales about seeing someone die there. Others ignored the topic, like it was bad luck to acknowledge it. Speak about the Dark, they would say, and the Dark is already coming for you.

But there was one intelligent conversation she'd had about the sinister shadows on the edge of the horizon. It happened one year ago, when she was at college. . .

~

"Hey Troy! Have you decided what to do for your end of term project?"

He'd stopped and turned towards her. Troy was a contender to be top of the class that year, and he was incredibly enthusiastic about discovering something new. She had a soft spot for him, and couldn't resist the urge to stop him in the corridor after the final class of the term, even if it was a lame excuse. But his eyes were already sparkling.

"For Professor Utah? It's a really good idea, fascinating! But. . . I couldn't risk telling you, in case you stole it. . ."

But he still stood there, as though he wanted to tell her anyway, so she said, "I don't want to steal anything, I'm just curious. Your last project was the evolution of indigenous insects which I thought was pretty unique."

"Thanks," he said with a fervent smile. "Not many people care about the rare black-eyed moth, y'know. I took inspiration from my parrot Ken, he wished I would work on them more. No, you'll like the next one even more! I'd say this subject is ignored as a matter of habit, but i think it's the elephant we need to address once in a while."

"Which is. . . ?"

He grinned and leaned forward conspiratorially. He whispered it in her ear –

"The weather!"

Zephyr snorted, but only when she saw his hurt expression did she realise he wasn't joking. Composing herself she repeated, "Ahem! The, uh, the weather? That's – not what I expected. . . Good for you." She began walking away, but he overtook her.

"Good for me? What do you mean? You don't think it's good enough?"

"Well –" she frowned because of his expression. How could he be serious? " – That's nothing new! That's basic. I thought you were going be inspirational!"

His mouth fell open. "It is going to be very inspirational, thank you very much!" She looked unconvinced, so he pulled out a map from his backpack. Zephyr rolled her eyes.

"Do you see this? It's the island of Bulan –"

"I know," she said automatically, looking at the smile shaped crescent with beaches on the fairer inside and dangerous cliffs on the dark rims.