Words to Tie to Bricks Read Online Free PDF Page B

close to overflowing and the field was saturated. The ground glistened and a pond had formed by the hedgerow.
    They were about to try to brave the sodden earth when Joe’s mother found them. The boy was dragged away by the ear while his mother screeched in it. It was a grand total of two minutes
before the others were given the same treatment by their own parents.
    After Mam had finished reprimanding him, she had left him here to wait until his clothes had dried. Or possibly until he died of boredom. Rose sat opposite him on the couch, writing into her
hardback copy. The books from her schoolbag had spilled out around her feet and he could see an old essay covered in little red markings peeking out from her English book.
    Declan never wanted to go into secondary school. Homework at the weekend! What kind of monsters would do that?
    Any other time he would leave Rose be. If she wasn’t talking about some boy with ‘dreamy eyes’, she was prattling on about makeup and neither were topics he had a smidgeon of
interest in. Then again, his trousers were still dripping onto the stones and he was going to collapse if he didn’t do
something
soon.
    ‘What’s that?’ he asked, cutting through the silence.
    ‘Homework,’ she replied without raising her eyes. She coughed into the back of her hand and kept writing.
    ‘What kind of homework?’
    ‘I’ve to write an essay for English.’ Her eyes were narrowed in suspicion as she answered. He knew that she was questioning his motives.
    ‘Read it for me,’ he requested, flashing a smile. When he was younger, he quickly learnt that little boys with big smiles were generally considered ‘cuddly’ and
‘cute’ and had turned his grin into a work of art. The dimples of his cheeks never failed him.
    Rose sighed, clearly feeling put upon, but began reading nonetheless.
    ‘There is a sense of anticipation as
–
’
    ‘What’s that mean?’
    Her glare was icy and he threw his hands up in surrender.
    Rose cleared her throat and started again.
    ‘There is a sense of anticipation as winter ends.
    ‘Snowdrops force their way up through the hardened soil to act as standard-bearers for oncoming forces. The sun begins to linger in the sky each day to watch as legions of daffodils
gather. Their bright petals pay tribute to the sunlight.’ She seemed quite pleased with her choice of words there and Declan tried not to mock her hand gestures as she spoke. ‘A tension
builds and animals cautiously venture from their hideaways.
    ‘With the war cry of a bird, it begins. Buds fire open. Frost sweeps over fields at night and chokes the life from new sprouts. Hordes of rabbits,’ Rose paused to turn the page,
‘pour out from their burrows. An icy wind brings blankets of cloud to keep the grass from growing. After countless battles between flora and frost, the land is painted green. The forces of
spring rejoice as their enemy is forced back and finally banished.’
    The door opened and Mam leaned through. ‘Tea, anyone?’
    ‘No thanks, Mam,’ they chanted in reply. She smiled and shut the door, sending a wave of cold air through the room.
    Declan shivered once and waited as Rose searched for her place.
    ‘The armies rejoice in their triumph. Grass reaches to the sky in exuberance. Flowers burst open as fireworks of celebration and foxgloves serve as bells of victory. Honey bees are
messengers of the good news. The landscape brims with life. Plants stretch and bear fruit for a banquet. The scorching sun now remains astonishingly long in the sky to watch the festivities.
    ‘However, with time its interest fades. The ethereal witness,’
–
the smug way Rose said ethereal didn’t sit well with him
–
‘grows weary and
drifts from sight earlier with every passing day. The warmth it provides slips away and the growth of life slows.
    ‘The lush leaves lose their brilliance. Cold mists flow over hedgerows and cling to the ground each evening. A howling wind warns of an