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The Hidden Pond Rain pattered endlessly against the roof Kendra had never heard such a noisy downpour Then again, she had never been in an attic during a rainstor, so constant that it al in volu at thebeside the telescope, she watched the deluge The rain fell straight and hard There was no wind, just layer upon layer of streaking droplets, blurring into a gray haze in the distance The gutter below her was about to overflow

Seth sat on a stool in the corner, painting Lena had been creating paint-by-nu thee to his specifications The current project was a dragon battling a knight on horseback aes in considerable detail, including subtleties of light and shade, so that the finished products looked quite accoiven him samples of which hue corresponded to each nu, she had incorporated more than ninety different shades

Kendra had rarely seen Seth des After a few brief lessons on how to apply the paint, including the purposes of different brushes and tools, he had already finished a large canvas of pirates sacking a town and a s cobra Two is in three days He was an addict! And he was al to the bookshelf, Kendra ran a hand along the spines of the voluhly and had yet to find the last keyhole, let alone a secret passage to the other side of the attic Seth could be a pest, but now that he had beco tofor her Kendra had turned down her initial offer, since it sounded childish, like coloring But the finished products looked much less juvenile than Kendra had anticipated

Kendra opened the door and descended the stairs The house was dim and quiet, the rainfallthe hall and down the stairs to the hts were out despite the glooh the living roon of the housekeeper Had she left?

Opening the door to the basement, Kendra peered down the steps into the darkness The stairs were eon Lena? she called uncertainly

Surely the woht

Kendra went back down the hall and slid open the door to the study Having not yet entered this particular rooe desk cluttered with books and papers Therotesque woodentrophies lined another Plaques decorated the wood-paneled walls, along with a framed display of military medals and ribbons There was a black-and-white picture of aoff an enormous marlin On the desk, inside a crystal sphere with a flat bottoer than her thue, the parlor, and the family room

Maybe Lena had run to the store

Kendra walked out to the back porch, shielded fro She loved the fresh, da around the garden Where did the butterflies hide from such a downpour?

Then she saw Lena The housekeeper knelt in the e blue and white roses, absolutely soaked, apparently weeding Her white hair was plastered to her head, and her housecoat was drenched

Lena?

The housekeeper looked up, smiled, and waved

Kendra retrieved an uarden You’re sopping, Kendra said

Lena rooted out a weed It’s a war out in the weather She stuffed the weed into a bulging garbage bag

You’re going to catch a cold

I don’t often take ill She paused to stare up at the clouds It won’t last azed heavenward

Leaden skies in all directions You think?

Wait and see The rain will pass within the hour

Your knees are all muddy

You think I’ve lost my marbles The di her head back Do you ever look up at the rain, Kendra? It feels like the sky is falling

Kendra tilted the uain Millions of raindrops rushed toward her, so her blink Or like you’re soaring up to the clouds, she said

I suppose I should get you inside before my unusual habits rub off

No, I didn’t mean to disturb you Back under the protection of the uuess you don’t want the umbrella

That would defeat the purpose I’ll be in shortly

Kendra returned to the house She stole glances at Lena through aIt was just so peculiar, she couldn’t resist spying So a blosso

Kendra was sitting on her bed, reading poehtened The sun was out

Lena had been right about the rain It had relented about forty minutes after her prediction The housekeeper had coed out of her wet clothes, and ht charging the dragon was coo Kendra was in a lazy mood

Just as Kendra returned her attention to the latest poe hard He wore only socks on his feet His clothes were streaked with mud

You have to come see what I found in the woods

Another witch?

No Way cooler

A hobo ca to say; you have to come see

Does it involve hermits or lunatics?

No people, he said

How far froet in trouble Besides, it’sa beautiful park in the woods, Seth blurted

What? asked Kendra

You have to co

Kendra closed the book

The sunlight ca clouds A soft breeze ruffled the foliage The woods s, Kendra shrieked when she saw a glistening white frog

Seth turned around Aweso, said Seth He tried to grab it, but the frog took an enor flew!

He checked the underbrush where the frog had landed, but found nothing

Hurry up, Kendra said, glancing back the way they had coht She could not shake the sick, nervous feeling in her stomach

Unlike her little brother, Kendra was not a natural rule breaker She was in all the accelerated classes at school, got alrades, kept her room tidy, and always practiced for her piano lessons Seth, on the other hand, settled for lousy grades, routinely skipped his homework, and earned frequent detentions Of course, he was also the one with all the friends, so maybe there was a method to his ain, blazing a trail through the undergrowth

The longer we’re gone, the

It isn’t e More like a tall barrier of unkee?

The park is on the far side