The Fullness of Quiet Read Online Free PDF Page B

pointed it out to Joshua but he didn’t seem to be interested. He really did confuse me. On some days he would be happy and chirpy and would have found something like that funny or at least interesting but other days, like today, he would find everything uninteresting and be reluctant to partake in any conversation. I didn’t know what to do.
    “What’s wrong?” I signed.
    “Nothing,” he replied. He knew, that I knew, he was lying but he still wouldn’t tell me.
    I stood up and took his hand. He looked up at me, surprised by my actions. I led him through the field towards my house. He tried to sign to me but I told him not to speak. It would be easier to show him.
    Next to my house was a small copse of trees. I used to pretend it was my very own forest filled with magical creatures such as fairies and ogres. The fairies were my friends and they’d always help me when I needed them to. I didn’t have to sign to them because they could hear my thoughts.
    I led Joshua to the small copse and we made our way between the trees. Their trunks were so big I wouldn’t have been able to get my arms around them. The branches were fresh with new green leaves and their roots delved deep into the soil beneath our feet. In the middle of the copse was my secret hide-out. It was hidden in a tree whose branches were so thick and full of leaves, it was impossible to see anything between them. At the base of the tree was a dense bush. I skillfully made my way through, slowly guiding Joshua until we had reached the trunk of the tree.
    Nailed to the tree’s trunk was a series of wooden planks and I began to climb them. When I reached the top, I climbed onto a wooden platform and looked back to help Joshua. He looked up at me with a quizzical expression and then followed me up. When he got to the top, he climbed onto the platform and stood next to me.
    “What is this place?” he signed to me.
    “My old tree house,” I replied with a smile. I could feel my cheek muscles spreading into a wide grin but I couldn’t help myself. The look on Joshua’s face was so amazed.
    The tree house had three walls, all of which had a small square window in the centre. In the middle of the space inside, there was a rickety table and two chairs, all made from wood. In the corner was a plastic box looking very out of place. I opened it and showed him an array of slingshots and toy guns.
    “My protection,” I signed to him. He looked at everything in wonder. “Now will you please smile.” He laughed out loud and then looked shocked at his actions. It was the first time he’d laughed around me. I laughed with him. “I bet you cannot throw as far as me on the slingshot.” I took out a metal tin full of pebbles, placed it on the table and then removed two slingshots, handing one to him. He smiled at me slyly and reached into the tin for some stones.
    We leaned out of the window and took it in turns firing pebbles into the clearing below.
    “I have an idea,” he signed. He poured all the pebbles in the tin onto the table and then climbed down the ladder. I leaned out of the window to see him place the small tin in the middle of the clearing and then he climbed back up the ladder. “Whoever gets the most stones in the tin is the champion.” I laughed at him and we began dividing up the stones on the table, taking it in turns to pick the best ones.
    We leaned back out of the window taking it in turns to fire at the tin. By the time we’d spent all our ammunition, neither of us had succeeded. I sank to the floor of the tree house, laughing and smiling. Joshua come over and sat next to me.
    “Why do you come here?” he asked.
    “Because look.” I pointed out the window on the opposite wall to us and just above the tree canopy you could see the sky turning pink as the sun set.
    “Wow, it is beautiful.” I nodded in agreement and let my head sink onto his shoulder. “This was fun, Jocelyn.” I’d never seen him sign my name before. I know it