The Hour Before Dawn. Sara MacDonald
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The Hour Before Dawn
Sara MacDonald
For my beloved twin Nicky, with love.
Between midnight and dawn, when the past is all deception, The future futureless, before the morning watch. TS Eliot
Table of Contents
Fleur treads water in the deep end as the twins slowly climb to the diving board. An older girl goes up behind them to make sure they don’t fall.
Fleur is laughing at their excitement. Nikki jumps first, plummets downwards, hits the water and keeps going down. Fleur hauls her up to the surface and she opens her mouth and screams with joy.
Fleur sits her on the edge of the pool and swims back to the middle for Saffie. Saffie leaps and lands almost into Fleur’s arms and Fleur scoops her up before she sinks. The onlookers round the pool clap their hands; it is an amazing sight to see toddlers jumping from the diving board.
‘We did it! We did it!’ they both cry.
Fleur swims to the edge and pulls herself out and sits next to them. ‘You’re so brave! I’m so proud of you!’
‘Now