Mathew and Naomi were teenagers, bound together closer than any brother and sister although they were obviously not related, Mathew with his blonde hair and light complexion was so at odds with Naomi’s olive skin and black curly hair. Their parents, Sarah and Rory ran the local vetinary practice. Mathew and Naomi had gone to the same Primary school in the village and now both went to the same secondary school, catching the same bus together every morning. Mathew was a very protective older brother although the pair seemed to be best friends and confided in each other about everything. To outsiders this relationship was strange and even their parents felt left out sometimes from their children’s lives.
“Naomi! Come on - you’re gonna miss the bus!” Mathew yelled up the stairs. A few months earlier and he would’ve said “we’re gonna miss the bus”.
“Mathew! Stop shouting for goodness sake”, said his mother, exasperated. “Go ahead and I’ll get her up.”
Grumbling he stomped out, letting some tangy sea air in as he slammed the door.
Sarah went up the stairs and into her daughter’s bedroom.
“Naomi, my lovely, come on - time to get up.”
No response.
“Naomi?” Sarah was worried now. “Are you alright?”
She knelt down by the bed. Naomi had pulled the duvet up over her head. Sarah pulled back the covers and frowned.
Naomi wasn’t there. She’d rolled up some clothes and her pillow to make it look like she was but there was no mistaking it. Naomi wasn’t there.
Sarah raced back downstairs and called her husband.
“Rory? Naomi’s gone.”
“Gone? Where?”
“Well I don’t know, do I! She’s just gone - she didn’t get on the bus with Mathew this morning and then I found her clothes and……”
“Ok, ok, calm down Sarah, it’s alright, I’ll be over in a minute. Alright?”
“Okay.”
“Maybe you could phone Matt?”
“Ok. Love you.”
“You too. See you in a minute.”
Sarah put the phone down and called her son.
Mathew was on the bus when his phone rang.
“Mum?”
“Yeah - listen, Naomi isn’t here.”
“What do you mean - she isn’t in her bed?”
“Yeah - you know. She’s probably just trying to scare us - she’s been a bit out of it recently.”
Yeah, thought Mathew - more than you know.
“Mathew, do you know where she is?”
He paused, feeling sick - maybe he should tell her…..
“Mathew?”
“No, of course not Ma - I would’ve told you.”
“Okay sweetheart, phone me if you think of anything.”
“Alright Mum, I will - should I come home?”
“No, no, you carry on - she might even be in school waiting for you!” the cheeriness in her voice fell flat.
“Bye Ma.”
“Bye Matt.”
He put the phone down, his heart filling with dread. He turned to his friend, Mitch.
“Wanna bunk off today?”
“Sure”, Said Mitch enthusiastically.
“Go down the crag?”
“If you want….”, he hesitated. “It might be a bit rough….”
Mathew knew where Naomi was - and it wasn’t school.
Matthew seemed not hear or take any notice of him. Mitch frowned - his friend had been acting pretty weird all morning and now he was getting worried.
“Matt? Come on man - it’s howling!”
Matthew turned to Mitch. “I’m going down there.”
Mitch looked down at the waves breaking on deadly rocks below. “Are off your nut? You can’t go down there!”
“It’s Naomi - she’s in trouble,” Mitch stared into his best friend’s eyes as he spoke. “Mitch - I’ve got to go down there.”
“What are you talking about? There’s no way Naomi’s down there in this weather!” Mitch yelled over the wind which seemed to have picked up a notch.
“I have to go now! There’s no time to explain - don’t wait any longer,” Matthew’s eyes were desperate. “Just wait up here - don‘t come down”
“What? What’s going on Matt?! Come on, let‘s just get out of here.”
“Trust me - please - just trust me.”
With that he turned and started off, climbing down the rocks, keeping low - out of the wind.
“Matt!”
Mitch watched helplessly, torn between following his friend and doing what Matt had so urgently bid him. ‘This is insane’, he thought, his hands on his head, wondering what the hell was going on.
As her brother started to climb down the treacherous rocks, Naomi was waking up. She felt warm and deeply rested……she opened her eyes. Strange, she thought - she seemed to be underwater although she was breathing quite normally. The thought of being underwater didn’t worry her at all, she felt quite calm, almost wanted to drift back to sleep. It was quiet. She sat up slowly and realised that she’d been lying on sand - the bottom of the sea perhaps? Still not fully awake, her senses numbed, she felt no urgency to understand why she had ended up in this peculiar situation after falling asleep in her bed just like every other night. Gazing down at the sand she was lying on, she realised that her feet were tied - tethered to the ocean floor. This worried her and she immediately tried to free herself, kicking and tearing at the ropes with her fingers. She became more and more upset as the ropes stayed firmly in place and was almost crying when she heard something - a voice.
“Naomi! Naomi!” The voice was urgent - desperate. Naomi? Something stirred in her memories…….Matthew! Her brother - of course! How had she come to forget him? It wasn’t possible surely - she suddenly felt worried and any remnants of her calmness disappeared. Where was she? Why? How?
“Naomi!”
“Matt! I’m here! I’m here Matt! Can you hear me? I’m tied up - can you hear me?! Matt! I’m here - down here!!”
She tugged desperately at the ropes imprisoning her, to no avail. She became conscious of a sound - a single note, eerily drifting through the thick silent water around her. Gazing around, she tried to find the source of the noise. It built in pitch, becoming stronger, louder………then, suddenly, it faded away to nothing again. Naomi shivered. A cold shiver of fear. Suddenly she felt tired again. Why was she scared? That was silly - she should feel safe, warm, happy. There was nothing to worry about……..
“Naomi!”
Her eyelids almost closed, her mind already drifting off to oblivious sleep, something fluttered inside her - who was calling? Who was he calling? Instinctively she knew the person was male…..how did she know that?
“Naomi!”
Leave me alone, she thought. Leave me to sleep. But wait! What was she doing! Adrenaline pumped through her veins - come on she said to herself, get it together girl. She felt as though she were in a thick fog and couldn’t find her way out. The temptation to sink into the fog and into oblivion was strong, and she was so…..so tired. Her eyelids fluttered closed and her body sagged onto the ocean floor. Her face relaxed into an expression of pure serenity.
Above the surface, Matt was battered and soaked through to the skin, salt stining his eyes as he tried to make out the next foothold on the slimy rocks.
“Naomi!”
He was shouting at the top of his lungs but the wind was throwing his words back in his face as soon as he forced them out.
“Naomi! Naomi - where are you?!!”
He struggled on, slipped and cut his leg, bright blood over his ankle.
“Come back Naomi - please!”
But recently something had changed. They had drifted apart. Their parents reasoned with each other that Mathew was simply growing up, he had new friends now, new interests and was tired of his younger sister always tagging alone. They talked about Naomi, how she too had found new friends in the Secondary school. But they knew in their hearts that these reasons weren’t reasonable - they knew something deep and mysterious had shifted between Mathew and Naomi.
“Mathew! Stop shouting for goodness sake”, said his mother, exasperated. “Go ahead and I’ll get her up.”
Grumbling he stomped out, letting some tangy sea air in as he slammed the door.
Sarah went up the stairs and into her daughter’s bedroom.
“Naomi, my lovely, come on - time to get up.”
No response.
“Naomi?” Sarah was worried now. “Are you alright?”
She knelt down by the bed. Naomi had pulled the duvet up over her head. Sarah pulled back the covers and frowned.
Naomi wasn’t there. She’d rolled up some clothes and her pillow to make it look like she was but there was no mistaking it. Naomi wasn’t there.
Sarah raced back downstairs and called her husband.
“Rory? Naomi’s gone.”
“Gone? Where?”
“Well I don’t know, do I! She’s just gone - she didn’t get on the bus with Mathew this morning and then I found her clothes and……”
“Ok, ok, calm down Sarah, it’s alright, I’ll be over in a minute. Alright?”
“Okay.”
“Maybe you could phone Matt?”
“Ok. Love you.”
“You too. See you in a minute.”
Sarah put the phone down and called her son.
Mathew was on the bus when his phone rang.
“Mum?”
“Yeah - listen, Naomi isn’t here.”
“What do you mean - she isn’t in her bed?”
“Yeah - you know. She’s probably just trying to scare us - she’s been a bit out of it recently.”
Yeah, thought Mathew - more than you know.
“Mathew, do you know where she is?”
He paused, feeling sick - maybe he should tell her…..
“Mathew?”
“No, of course not Ma - I would’ve told you.”
“Okay sweetheart, phone me if you think of anything.”
“Alright Mum, I will - should I come home?”
“No, no, you carry on - she might even be in school waiting for you!” the cheeriness in her voice fell flat.
“Bye Ma.”
“Bye Matt.”
He put the phone down, his heart filling with dread. He turned to his friend, Mitch.
“Wanna bunk off today?”
“Sure”, Said Mitch enthusiastically.
“Go down the crag?”
“If you want….”, he hesitated. “It might be a bit rough….”
Mathew knew where Naomi was - and it wasn’t school.
An hour later, looking out over the rocky promontory “a bit rough” seemed like a tremendous understatement. The sky and sea were grey and the white peaks of the waves crashed deafeningly onto the rocks below sending a spray of seawater through the air. Mathew tasted the familiar tang of sea-salt on his lips.
“Jesus! It’s a proper gale now, eh!?” shouted Mitch over the roaring waves and howling winds. “Come on - let’s get back up to the road!”Matthew seemed not hear or take any notice of him. Mitch frowned - his friend had been acting pretty weird all morning and now he was getting worried.
“Matt? Come on man - it’s howling!”
Matthew turned to Mitch. “I’m going down there.”
Mitch looked down at the waves breaking on deadly rocks below. “Are off your nut? You can’t go down there!”
“It’s Naomi - she’s in trouble,” Mitch stared into his best friend’s eyes as he spoke. “Mitch - I’ve got to go down there.”
“What are you talking about? There’s no way Naomi’s down there in this weather!” Mitch yelled over the wind which seemed to have picked up a notch.
“I have to go now! There’s no time to explain - don’t wait any longer,” Matthew’s eyes were desperate. “Just wait up here - don‘t come down”
“What? What’s going on Matt?! Come on, let‘s just get out of here.”
“Trust me - please - just trust me.”
With that he turned and started off, climbing down the rocks, keeping low - out of the wind.
“Matt!”
Mitch watched helplessly, torn between following his friend and doing what Matt had so urgently bid him. ‘This is insane’, he thought, his hands on his head, wondering what the hell was going on.
As her brother started to climb down the treacherous rocks, Naomi was waking up. She felt warm and deeply rested……she opened her eyes. Strange, she thought - she seemed to be underwater although she was breathing quite normally. The thought of being underwater didn’t worry her at all, she felt quite calm, almost wanted to drift back to sleep. It was quiet. She sat up slowly and realised that she’d been lying on sand - the bottom of the sea perhaps? Still not fully awake, her senses numbed, she felt no urgency to understand why she had ended up in this peculiar situation after falling asleep in her bed just like every other night. Gazing down at the sand she was lying on, she realised that her feet were tied - tethered to the ocean floor. This worried her and she immediately tried to free herself, kicking and tearing at the ropes with her fingers. She became more and more upset as the ropes stayed firmly in place and was almost crying when she heard something - a voice.
“Naomi! Naomi!” The voice was urgent - desperate. Naomi? Something stirred in her memories…….Matthew! Her brother - of course! How had she come to forget him? It wasn’t possible surely - she suddenly felt worried and any remnants of her calmness disappeared. Where was she? Why? How?
“Naomi!”
“Matt! I’m here! I’m here Matt! Can you hear me? I’m tied up - can you hear me?! Matt! I’m here - down here!!”
She tugged desperately at the ropes imprisoning her, to no avail. She became conscious of a sound - a single note, eerily drifting through the thick silent water around her. Gazing around, she tried to find the source of the noise. It built in pitch, becoming stronger, louder………then, suddenly, it faded away to nothing again. Naomi shivered. A cold shiver of fear. Suddenly she felt tired again. Why was she scared? That was silly - she should feel safe, warm, happy. There was nothing to worry about……..
“Naomi!”
Her eyelids almost closed, her mind already drifting off to oblivious sleep, something fluttered inside her - who was calling? Who was he calling? Instinctively she knew the person was male…..how did she know that?
“Naomi!”
Leave me alone, she thought. Leave me to sleep. But wait! What was she doing! Adrenaline pumped through her veins - come on she said to herself, get it together girl. She felt as though she were in a thick fog and couldn’t find her way out. The temptation to sink into the fog and into oblivion was strong, and she was so…..so tired. Her eyelids fluttered closed and her body sagged onto the ocean floor. Her face relaxed into an expression of pure serenity.
Above the surface, Matt was battered and soaked through to the skin, salt stining his eyes as he tried to make out the next foothold on the slimy rocks.
“Naomi!”
He was shouting at the top of his lungs but the wind was throwing his words back in his face as soon as he forced them out.
“Naomi! Naomi - where are you?!!”
He struggled on, slipped and cut his leg, bright blood over his ankle.
“Come back Naomi - please!”
To be continued………
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