Chapter 45 Lola

• I padded down on the soft ground, keeping low. As I came up to the last of the trees, I could see the old man, clear as day. Itwas him. But he didn’t look menacing or scary, not now. He looked old and tired, and was sadly staring up at the house, as though he was trying to make up his mind whether to approach. There was still fifty or so yards’ distance between us, but in the silvery moonlight spreading on the lake’s surface, I could make out his tattered, torn fishing coat. The fraying cuffs of his jeans around the pair of old workboots he wore.
• My heart was racing. Why were we so scared of him? He didn’t look like he could do a bit of damage to someone. And it didn’t seem like he was here to harm us, either. And yet my nerves were on edge. My heart was pounding so hard I didn’t even think about it as my leg stepped backwards, and a stick snapped under my sneaker.
• The man looked up, and for a moment, I came face-to-face with his arresting, blue eyes.