Not As We Know It Read Online Free Page A

morning.
    “That night every soul on board was woken by deep singing. You can hear history in a whale’s song—each booming note slowly shaking your bones, vibrating through you. We all went out on deck and there they were. Huge beasts, shining in the moonlight. A gam of whales.”
    Granddad said that the captain, Long Ben, was one of the best seamen he’d ever known. “Knew the sea like a mother.”
    Long Ben called for the anchor to be raised. The crew fired up the engine and followed the whales. And when the sun rose, they were in sight of land and in the shipping lane they’d lost. With a song, the whales had led them home.
    —
    The night after we found Leonard, I couldn’t sleep; there was a whistle on the wind. Leonard was singing.
    “Jamie,” Ned said. “Can you hear him?”
    We stared out of our window, down to the garage and across the sea. Leonard’s home was somewhere out there. Maybe Leonard had a family waiting for him to come home. Maybe he was lost.
    “Ned,” I whispered, and for the first time I said what we both knew. “We can’t keep him forever.”
    Ned wasn’t listening. He was searching for something in his drawer. He came back to the window with his Walkman. Dad had bought it last time my brother had a long stay in hospital. It had a big microphone unit on the top. Our friend Tibs, who lived at the post office round the corner, had been so jealous when he had seen it.
    Ned pushed open the window, but before pressing record he turned back to me. “You can’t keep anything forever,” he whispered.

The next day was one Ned wanted to get away from. Mum and Dad had learned not to tell him when those days were coming. Otherwise he’d be gone before morning and we’d spend the day searching for him.
    The last time that happened, Mum had been distraught. She thought we’d lost Ned for good, till I found him rock pooling on the cliffs by Portland Bill.
    Now Mum just wakes us from the doorway with her tea in hand and her dressing gown wrapped round her and says, “Appointment today, Neddy. Dad’s waiting downstairs.” And Dad would be waiting in the hallway. No chance of Ned slipping away.
    Ned usually swears when he hears this news. That day he didn’t say anything.
    “You all right, Ned?” Mum said.
    I grabbed his bunk and pulled myself up to peer at him. “He’s not there, Mum,” I said.
    Mum swore. “How did he know?” she said, then shouted to Dad, “Did you tell him, Charlie?”
    “What?” Dad called back.
    “He’s not here.”
    “Where is he, Jamie?” Dad yelled.
    I was always expected to know. Like I was expected to make sure Ned didn’t do too much. Get him home on time. Keep
our
room tidy. Even my parents forgot we were the same age.
    I did have a good idea where he was this time, though. “I’ll check the garage,” I said before anyone else thought of it.
    “Ned,” I whispered as the door squeaked open. There was a splash, then a torch flicked on. The beam was directed at me. “Ned?” I said again.
    “Shhh,” my brother whispered. “He doesn’t like noise.” He flicked the torch off again. “Or light.”
    I stayed by the open door. I could see my brother, just a dark outline in the few beams of light I let into the garage. “Did you talk to him?” I said.
    Ned laughed quietly. “Do you think Leonard speaks English?” he asked. “I just
know.
Talking’s not the word exactly.”
    I stood and stared. I wasn’t sure what to make of Ned’s knowing. It felt like
our
adventure was fast becoming
Ned’s
adventure. Jealousy crawled across my skin.
    “He touched me,” my brother said. “When I coughed, he touched me here.” I could see my brother’s hand pressed against his chest. “His hand is so cold.”
    I’d heard a doctor whisper the word
hopeless
to my parents at one of Ned’s appointments. Maybe doctors didn’t know everything. Maybe Leonard was more than just a fish-man. In stories, strange creatures brought about strange events.