Red Rocks Read Free Page B

Jake thought it might take right off into the air andcarry her with it. Her oversized men’s coat and pants would billow in the wind, while her bare feet would be the last he saw of her before she disappeared into the sky.
    But she didn’t float away. Instead, the old man put his arm around her, calming her, and guided her inside.
    Jake kept riding, hard. So hard that he started to puff, and he was no longer cold; instead, the wind on his face felt deliciously cool. Something about the look on the woman’s face made him feel uneasy, but at the same time he was glad he had seen her. He couldn’t think why he found her so interesting. She looked so young and smooth next to the stooped and wrinkled old man, and she didn’t seem so crazy today, just upset.
    He biked until he couldn’t breathe, then threw the bike on the ground and jogged to the nearest rocks. He lay down on one, like a seal, and waited until his heart slowed down and his breathing no longer hurt his chest. From wherehe lay on his stomach, Jake could see the slit in the rocks where the sealskin had been hidden. He kept very still, looking at it, and as he did so, he spotted a movement. The crevice was maybe ten metres away, and a small brown shape was moving towards it. Jake held his breath a moment, willing the seal not to see him. It was much smaller than those he’d seen throwing themselves into the water. It was practically a baby. It pulled itself along the rock, grunting slightly, almost as if it were humming a tune to itself the way Jake liked to do as he walked. It stopped every now and then and sniffed the air, but Jake was to the north, so his scent would be carried away by the breeze. Finally the seal reached the narrow cave, took one last look around and disappeared inside it.
    Jake watched with anticipation, and waited a minute, maybe two. He thought about creeping up to the cave, looking in, maybe even trying to make friends with the young seal. Maybe he could pat it. He wished he could talk to it,communicate with it somehow. But as he started to move towards it he knew he was being silly. It was a wild animal. There was no way it would want to be his pet. He stopped and retreated to his lookout.
    Soon the seal came out. It was quivering, suddenly nervous — scared even. It looked around and caught sight of Jake and before Jake could do anything, it had bounded across the rocks and dived into the water. Jake jumped up and tried to find the animal among the surging masses of seaweed, but it must have dived and kept on swimming. He was just about to turn away when he caught sight of its shining head. It had popped up, quite close, and its black eyes glistened as it stared at him. It must have felt safer in the sea. Even when Jake stole up to the edge of the water, it didn’t swim away. It was watching him.
    ‘Hi, little fella.’ He crouched down and stretched a hand out towards it.
    The seal bobbed around in the surf. Itbobbed closer. Jake got down onto his knees and reached down towards it. It bobbed so close that if he just reached out a little bit further, he could maybe …
    Jake gasped as he came up for air from the sting of the cold water. He hadn’t even felt himself slipping, he had been so intent on touching the stupid seal. Luckily, he was a good swimmer and the sea wasn’t too rough today. He’d seen it on other days, beating itself against the rocks — to be caught in the ocean on a day like that would mean being bashed around for sure. He looked around but the seal was gone. He swam to the rocks and pulled himself back up, where he lay, shivering and wet. He heard a chattering sound. When he looked up the seal was close by again. This time Jake was sure it was laughing at him. Then, with a flick of its back flippers, it dived under and disappeared.

4
    J ake tried to move quickly but the wind cut through his wet clothes, making his muscles cold and stiff. I’ll freeze to death before I make it home, he thought, and imagined