It was heavily quiet. The garden felt...watchful. Kiddo lay sleeping on the bricks at the edge of the pond. A single small bubble floated to the top of the water and broke the glassy surface with a tiny ‘pop’. Ever so slowly, a hand emerged from the water and hovered over Kiddo’s head, opening and closing. The trees erupted with a cacophony of chitters and screeches. The water at the edges of the pond began to froth and churn. Kiddo woke with a start and the hand snatched a handful of her hair and yanked her bodily into the pond. Gasping for breath, Kiddo inhaled a mouthful of water. Still only half awake, the confusion of dark water and bubbles seemed like a nightmare, but the pain of water in her nose and throat was real. She struggled to right herself and make for the dim light of the receding surface, but something had a hold of her hair and she couldn't get loose. Dizzy from lack of air she tried to grab whatever had her and felt a sharp pain in her arm. She screamed, inhaled more water and passed out.
[Excerpt from Kiddo Green and the Three Pearls, Copyright © 2024 Lisa Burvant]