Chapter 1
Josh Sparkins stretched as he sat on the edge of his bed. Getting back into a morning routine on the first day of his sophomore year proved harder than he thought it would be. A backpack, notebooks, pens and assorted folders covered the top of his Gramps’ antique desk, along with a new IPad. He was grateful his parents finally realized he needed to get into the electronic age.
As Josh was filling his backpack with his school items, he ran his hand across the desk thinking of his Gramps who passed away the previous year.
“Ouch,” Josh said as he held up is finger and saw a tiny sliver. He continued to inspect his finger as he headed downstairs to his parents bathroom to find tweezers. As Josh walked through his parents’ bedroom to get to their bathroom, he noticed a painting hanging near the bed.
Josh inspected the picture, mesmerized by the scene in front of him. He was looking into a painting of an open window with a view of a beach. Waves gently lapped the empty, endless sand. Sailboats floated in the distance. Patches of blue peeked through the vibrant yellows and oranges in the early morning sky. As he stared, he felt the rhythm of the sea. The sea grass began to rustle in the breeze. The warm air breathed against his face. A flag on one of the boats turned black. The boat changed shape as he squinted to make out the new menacing configuration.
“Josh!”
Startled, Josh blinked his eyes, watching the boat again reshape and the grass resume its inactivity. Turning, he saw his mom with a frown on her face and her clenched fists pressed against her hips.
“Josh,” she repeated. “What are you doing?”
“Oh, aah, just looking at this picture. I’ve never seen it before.” Trying to sound calm while his heart was racing, he continued. “Where did it come from?”
Mrs. Sparkins shook her head and relaxed her hands. “Your grandfather.”
“Gramps?” Josh sounded perplexed.
“Yes, yes. It’s been in the attic. I was in there the other day looking for something. Can’t even remember what for.” Mrs. Sparkins continued to frown. “Anyway, I saw this picture. It was supposed to be wrapped in brown paper and stored safely in a corner. But, there it was, just sitting right in front of me. So I thought I’d hang it here in our bedroom. By the way, why are you in here?”
Josh got up, slowly inching his way out of the room, “I was on my way to your bathroom and had to come through your room to get there. I was, um, was on my way to get something. Tweezers. I got this splinter in my hand. From my desk.” He smiled.
“So, did you get them?”
“What?”
“The tweezers.”
Josh quickly answered. “Oh, tweezers. Well actually I got distracted by the picture.”
Josh’s mom brushed by him and retrieved the tweezers from her bathroom and handed them to Josh. She asked him if he needed help.
He said, “I can handle it from here.”
Poking at his palm with the tweezers, Josh seemed intent on getting a splinter from his hand while peeking at the painting. He handed the tweezers back to his mom and told her thanks.
“Sorry if I upset you. I know it’s still hard to talk about Gramps, now that he’s gone.” Josh tried to sound upbeat.
“It’s OK. It’s just strange.”
“Strange?” Josh repeated with a question in his voice.
“Yes.” Josh’s mom looked like she didn’t want to continue the conversation, but said, “Well, it’s just that years ago I found your Gramps staring into the picture. Just like you were doing. I thought he said something like ‘That was fun.’ It didn’t make any sense to me. He just laughed, squeezed my arm, and walked by me saying he was starving. Then he went to the kitchen for something to eat without any further explanation.”
Josh headed out of the bedroom. “Well, you knew Gramps. Sometimes hard to figure out.”
Josh heard his mom say, “I guess.” She sounded distracted and he knew she was thinking of her Dad. Josh took the opportunity to escape to his room.