Dark Water

Chapter One

You wouldn’t have noticed me before the fire unless you saw that my eyes, like a pair of socks chosen in the dark, don’t match. One is blue and the other’s brown, a genetic trait called heterochromia that I share with white cats, Catahoula hog dogs, and water buffaloes. My uncle Hoyt used to tell me, when I was little, that it meant I could see fairies and peaceful ghosts.

Then I met Amiel, and for six months it seemed true what he whispered in his damaged voice: Tu eres de dos mundos.

He was wrong, of course. You can only belong to one world at a time.

Now that he’s gone, I try to see things when I’m alone. I put one hand over my blue eye, and I look south. With my brown eye I can see all the way to Mexico. I fly over freeways and tile roofs and malls and swimming pools. I cross the Sierra de Juarez mountains and the Sea of Cortez to the place where Amiel was born, and I find the turquoise house with a red door. There are three chairs on the covered patio outside: one for him, one for me, and one for Uncle Hoyt. I tell myself the chairs are empty because we’re not there yet. I watch for as long as I can and when my eye starts to water, I remove my hand.

Tomorrow, I’ll look again.

Reader Comments

Posted By: Camille D

I'm a big fan of the McNeal's books (have read all save for "Decoding of Lana Morris" which I plan to read soon). Although they're geared toward "young adults", they write their characters with such maturity that any audience will enjoy. I am definitely looking forward to this one. From what I can see, it's hugely different from the others. I cannot wait!

Posted By: Brie

I read Crooked and I absolutely loved it. I'm so excited for this book to come out! I read up top and I can't wait to read more! I can't wait to buy this book this fall.

Posted By: MakaylaB

If only I could read more! It's so interesting! I can't wait to buy the book next year!

Posted By: mary dupuy

It's remarkable that just one page of this book can be so thoroughly engaging, and show such beautiful and delicate writing. It will be hard to wait until next fall to find out where the author takes this story!

Write a Comment

	* Required Fields
* Name:
* Message:
* Validation:
	(Enter the code listed above to validate your request)