Book - The Tipping Point

Chapter Four

The next day, Alister found himself once again in front of the small patch of grass that had somehow survived through the tough conditions. It occurred to him that perhaps this had been the work of the WADE’s. That perhaps they were in fact better. The thought was quickly shut down when he realised that none of the WADE’s had even come close to this area, let alone the fact that they work methodically and wouldn’t come close to this area without clearing the rest of the rubbish first. Distraction aside, the last piece of grass stood before Alister. It had planted the first seed of hope within him, and simultaneously dragged it back down. It symbolised that the future was not as bleak as he had first anticipated and yet, made the future that much more unattainable. The future that his entire lineage had dreamt about seemed on the horizon. But perhaps a future free of rubbish was more than just a foolish desire? The sudden of loss of weight snapped Alister out of his thoughts. It was gone, the locket was gone. Panic coursed through his fragile body like ants scattering upon the destruction of their nest. The warm sensation of hope immediately left his body, leaving him distressed and defeated. Alister immediately dropped to the ground and began to search frantically looking for the locket. He could feel despair take over his body. Just when he was about to give up he searched the grass one last time and saw it. He grabbed it with immense speed. It was the locket, but something was different. It was brighter. Alister was confused. How did the locket change? Why did the locket change? Did it have anything to do with the grass? He decided to try it. He placed the locket back on the soft grass. Once again, the rust became ever so slightly lighter ensuring its beautiful glint in the sun. It was incredible. Alister closely examined the locket for a while and everything seem to be the way it was until he flipped it to the back, he saw something that he’d never seen before. It was small difficult to see. There was an inscription, but it was ineligible. Alister desperately wanted to find out what it said but it seemed as if it was rusted too much. He dropped the locket back on the grass in a frantic, final attempt to discern the inscription, but it didn’t work.

Alister wanted to find out what the inscription said. He pondered why his mother had never mentioned it? Perhaps it had always been too rusted to read. It was clear that the locket responded to the earth being clean. He wondered if maybe it would become fully silver one again if he cleaned up the whole garden. He could only hope. He realised he would need help. There was only really one person he could turn to. Vera. She seemed to be just as awed and amazed as he was by the grass. Perhaps she could help him. He marched off with new confidence inside him, determined to fix both the garden and his locket.