The Testimony of Taliesin Jones (53 page)

BOOK: The Testimony of Taliesin Jones

13.43Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

ads

'T
he th
ing a
bout
s
kimming i
s
th
at yo
u've
got
t
o fi
nd th
e r
ight
sto
ne
.
T
he
s
tone i
s as i
mportant
as
th
e
th
row.
Y
ou're
n
ot go
ing
to get a
fi
ve o
r
mo
re
wi
th
a
r
ound one
.
It
's go
t t
o
b
e
fl
at, smoo
th
a
nd he
avy e
nough. I
f
it i
sn't
h
eavy e
nough it'll flip
in t
he
w
ind. No
w
thi
s o
ne
is a sixer, at
l
east
.'

T
oni
pi
cks a
fl
at
reddish
s
tone
off t
he b
each and arc
hes h
is
arm r
eady to t
hrow. 'Mak
e s
ure th
at
y
ou
fli
ck you
r
w
rist
a
t th
e
l
ast
m
oment.'
His curl
y
l
ocks
b
ounce as
h
e spri
ngs t
o
r
elease
t
he
p
ebble w
hich
s
kims
o
ver th
e sea
.

'O
ne
..
.
two
..
.
thr
ee
.
.
.
f
our, five, s
ix
'
he co
unts,
s
peeding u
p a
t th
e e
nd.
'T
hose l
ast li
ttle tri
ckles do
n't
co
unt. Th
ey
h
ave
t
o be
cle
an
b
ounces
.
H
ere,
tr
y
thi
s o
ne
.'
H
e
t
osses
T
aliesin a si
milar fl
at
dis
c.
Th
e s
tone i
s
i
cy i
n hi
s
h
and.
H
e
th
rows it an
d
ge
ts th
e
tr
ajectory a
ll
w
rong
.
T
he
s
tone
s
plooshes
straig
ht into th
e sea
.

'
One.'

'You've
got to get down lower. Throw the stone along, not down; like this.' Toni
repeats the movement and sends a
nother
s
tone bouncin
g. 'O
ne.
..
t
wo
.
..
thr
ee
.
.
. f
our
.
. . five
.
.
.
si
x, seve
n,
eig
ht! No
w eig
ht
is
a
goo
d thr
ow.
I
f we ca
n
g
et
yo
u u
p
t
o eig
ht th
en yo
u
ca
n turn pr
ofessional.'

Jonathan
would be good at this. His brother would throw it in a sleek arch and his arm
would follow through as if
whippin
g a s
ilk s
carf
ov
er
hi
s s
houlder. Th
en
h
e
w
ould
wa
lk
a
way mumblin
g,
'Ten
,
not b
ad.'
But h
e
i
sn't
h
ere.
T
aliesin
wi
shes
h
e
h
ad co
me
.
H
e
mi
ght
h
ave
und
erstood
things mo
re i
f he'd
co
me,
i
nstead
o
f h
aving
to
g
uess wh
at
it wa
s
like from
a
b
egrudging
d
istance.
T
oni is
n
ot
a
s
bad
as
Jon
athan
im
ag
ine
s
. It
mig
ht h
elp
h
im
t
o
kno
w
thi
s.
H
e
mi
ght
n
ot
blam
e
h
is
m
other fo
r likin
g
him
.

Ju
st o
ffshore
a
l
arge
,
a
ngular b
ird
fall
s
to th
e sea a
nd
e
merges with
a s
kewered fi
sh
.
It ri
ses
in a bur
st o
f dr
oplets,
th
e fis
h
w
riggling and fl
ashing si
lver.

'
Look.
T
here.
D
id
yo
u
see
th
at?
Th
at's a
c
ormorant,'
T
oni s
houts
a
nd th
e
b
ird
i
s a
lready
s
kimming
a
way low ov
er
the w
ater. '
Ah n
o
.
S
orry,
m
y
mi
stake
,
it
'
s a s
hag. You
se
e the
w
hite tu
ft o
n it
s
h
ead?
Th
at's a
n
eas
y
mi
stake
to m
ake.
Th
ey
l
ook
th
e
s
a
m
e
but
fo
r th
e c
rown. Th
ey
'r
e ve
ry diff
erent
b
irds.
'

T
aliesin ma
nages t
o ge
t
fo
ur b
ounces o
ut
o
f
a
p
articularly s
treamlined
s
tone
,
t
elling
him
self
th
at
if it'
s eve
n th
en
G
od ex
ists, i
f it's o
dd h
e
d
oesn't
.
H
e
i
s e
njoying bein
g
with Toni
.
And T
oni is
m
ore r
elaxed on his
own, without
Ta
liesin's m
other
p
resent
.
H
er
pr
esence wo
uld
a
lter th
e easy
b
alance a
nd
c
reate
a
n imm
ediate
t
ension
.

W
alking
b
ack ove
r th
e sa
nd T
aliesin s
teps int
o
T
oni's
f
ootprints
tr
ying
t
o
l
eave
n
o
tr
ace o
f hi
s o
wn. At th
e
tide m
ark o
n th
e
b
each
th
e sa
nd
s
uddenly
c
hanges
co
lour and th
eir
print
s s
top
.
T
hey t
ake a
l
o
n
g
l
ook a
t th
e sea.
Tali
esin as
ks T
oni if
h
e
l
oves
hi
s
m
other.