THE BOULDER
Parsley Bay book 1
FICTION
Crunching his way across dried gum leaves and twigs came Water Dragon. He was in a hurry and particularly annoyed with himself for sleeping in, especially on such a beautiful morning – thirty degrees and rising. Normally, he would take his time – tune in to the ambient sound of the cicadas and feel the glorious heat on his back. Or breathe in the delicate perfume of the Frangipani flowers carried on the gentle harbour breeze.
But not today. There was no time for that.
“Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! If he’s there again, I don’t know what I’ll do…”
On any other kind of day, he might pause by the waterfall and reflect on how lucky he was to live at Parsley Bay – he didn’t need the big surf and excitement of Bondi or Coogee, he preferred the calm and gentle waters of Parsley Bay. Or he might listen to the mud crabs scuttling about on the oyster shells beneath and ponder how many years the water dragons had been at Parsley Bay. (Was it two million, three hundred thousand and sixty-four, or two million, three hundred thousand and sixty-five?)
But not today.
As he approached his destination, he spotted two bathers coming down the path through the tea trees, on their way to the jetty below for a morning dip. He would have to speed up to make it, but alas, his foe had beaten him to it, and his cold blood began to boil…