RETURN TO SWAN LAKE

a novel by Gary Canup

Chapter 6

They finally found some time to visit Swan Lake again. They were lounging on the bank, enjoying the sunshine and the fresh air and the freedom to do whatever they pleased. But Jan's conversation soon turned somber.

"Davy, now that the studio's finished, I'm afraid we won't be able to come here so much anymore."

"Why not?" Davy asked.

"Because I have to practice for the audition two hours a day from now on, in addition to my practice sessions in the evening at Madame Jenkins' school of ballet."

The boy made no reply.

Jan sighed and gazed wearily at the sky. "Look at that cloud up there. What does it look like to you?"

"Which one?"

"That one up there," she pointed, "just above the tree tops."

Davy put his hands behind his head and studied the cloud. "It looks like a big mountain of cotton candy," he said.

"To me it looks like an avalanche — you know, when you turn and see it for that split second just before it comes down on you. What about that cloud over there?"

Davy considered the cloud, chewing on a stem of grass. "That's a pirate ship," he decided.

"It does sort of look like a ship — one that's wrecked and half sunken on the rocks. Hey, this is like a Rorschach Test."

"A roar what?"

"Inkblot test. What does that one over there look like?"

"A big friendly dinosaur," Davy replied.