Chapter 1
Chapter 1
The summer holidays were Arthur’s absolute most favourite time of the year.
Not just because school was out for 6 weeks but because he’d get to spend most of that time at his Nain and Taids house. For those of you who aren’t aware of a Nain and Taid it’s what you call your grandparents when in Wales!Arthur’s parents, Roger and Alison Penddraig, had very busy jobs, they were both solicitors for their own firm R & A Legal. They wanted nothing but the best for Arthur, but spent way too much time working in his opinion. Which is why whenever it was the summer holidays Arthur would get sent off to his grandparents in Wales, which he loved because it was right by the sea and they had a house with huge gardens to explore.
Arthur was particularly close to his Taid, Albert. Albert had been a carpenter before he’d retired and had built a treehouse in the garden for Arthur as well as a number of carvings on trees and dens in the woods. Albert told Arthur he liked having the excuse of building things for him because it got him out of Nains way and she wouldn’t nag him to do chores around the house.Arthur’s Nain, Mary, was a bit stricter than Taid. Mary said that she had to be a bit bossier to keep check of both Arthur and Albert. But she would still find time to play along the beach and in the garden with Arthur , she explained to him the tides and the currents in the sea and seemed to know everything about the trees, plants and fruits of the countryside. He was never allowed in the sea unsupervised but there were steps down to the beach from the house and he was allowed down there to explore and play. When he was allowed in the sea, Arthur loved nothing more than body surfing and messing about in the large waves. Albert had made him a cracking wooden surfboard and Arthur had mastered surfing by the time he was 9! He was now 10 so pretty much a pro or so he would have you believe. When Albert had made the board he didn’t actually believe Arthur would be able to surf on it but he’d watched him try all summer 2 years previous. The lad was no quitter that’s for sure and by the end of summer he wasn’t just lying on the board catching waves he was standing and riding waves whilst whooping and waving to shore!
It was Arthur’s second day in at Nain and Taids and he was out surfing in the sea as his grandparents sat on the shore. Nain and Taid would watch him closely, beaming with pride and waving back. Mary turned to Albert and said “He gets his balance from me!” , Albert laughed and replied “No dear, he gets his stubbornness from you! He refused to give up on that board for two summers and now he’s mastered it. He’ll be looking for something else to master now!”“Maybe it’s time to introduce him to Idris?” said Mary“Roger wouldn’t be happy about that!” said Albert“Roger was the same age when he met Idris!” said Mary“Exactly! Look how that turned out!” said Albert“It has to happen some time, we know what he is, we’ve seen it since birth.”“Ok I’ll talk to Idris but I will only do so once I have told Roger!”
When Arthur had returned to the house after his swim he took himself off to the bathroom to shower. Once finished he wrapped himself in a large bath towel and was about to step out on the landing when he heard his Taid talking on the telephone. Usually Arthur would have just ignored the conversation, walked back to his room and continued with getting dressed in to his pj’s. But there was something about the tone of Alberts voice that sounded cagey and not his usual cheerful and relaxed self.“Your mother says it’s time to tell him!” said Albert into the telephone, obviously talking to Arthur’s father. “He’s ten now, he has a right to know and this will give him time to prepare for things should he…...well should he need to ever take on any additional responsibilities!”Arthur couldn’t hear what was being said from the other side of the call but now his mind was running wild, what could these responsibilities be?“I’ll call Idris tomorrow and see what he has to say, … ok…..I don’t think you need to be here but I also don’t think it would be a bad thing if you were.”Arthur was listening intently, what on earth could be so important that his dad would come away from work? And who on earth was Idris?He heard his Taid saying goodbye to his father and then heard the phone beep off and get put back into its stand. Arthur went to his room thoroughly confused by what he’d heard.
What Arthur did not yet know was that the next day would change his life forever.
