Ten Waves to Midnight

Chapter 1: The Sea That Could Only Count to Two

Afternoon light on the lighthouse cove. ⟨Character 1⟩ kneels in the wet sand, drawing a rocket with three fins. Her brother ⟨Character 2⟩ bowls a cricket ball at a driftwood stump. Their grandmother, ⟨Character 3⟩, stands at the water’s edge in a cardigan, pointing at the waves.

⟨Character 3⟩: Listen, children. That’s the sea counting: one, two, one, two.

⟨Character 1⟩: It just goes swish, swish. That’s not counting.

⟨Character 3⟩: It is counting. Two little swishes, then a pause. I’ve been trying to teach it more numbers all week, but it forgets. Every time I say three, it just goes back to two.

⟨Character 2⟩: Maybe it’s shy. Like Aanya when the thunder comes.

⟨Character 1⟩: Or maybe it’s like me and thunder. Too loud. It doesn’t like loud noises.

⟨Character 3⟩: Well, we have three days until the lighthouse’s hundredth birthday. That’s when the whole town comes for a party. I want the sea to count to ten for them. Imagine that.

⟨Character 2⟩: Three days? Easy. I’ll teach it with cricket. One ball per wave. It’ll be counting to ten by dinner.

⟨Character 1⟩: Maybe we could draw the numbers in the sand. Big ones. Then the sea could see them.

⟨Character 3⟩: We’ll try both tomorrow. For now, let’s go inside. I need to find my glasses. I put them down somewhere.

Inside the lighthouse kitchen, Kamala searches the shelves while ⟨Character 4⟩, the scruffy beagle, howls at the doorbell.

⟨Character 3⟩: ⟨Character 4⟩, hush. It’s just the wind. Now where are those glasses? I had them when I was reading the tide chart.

⟨Character 4⟩: Awooooo!

⟨Character 2⟩: I’m serious about the cricket plan. I’ll bowl, and every time the sea makes a wave, I’ll shout the next number. It’ll work.

⟨Character 1⟩: But what if the sea doesn’t like shouting? What if it likes quiet? I could draw the numbers. I’m good at drawing.

⟨Character 3⟩: We’ll try everything. Ah! Here they are. In the flour jar. I must have been baking.

⟨Character 4⟩: Awooooo!

⟨Character 3⟩: Did you hear that? After ⟨Character 4⟩ howled, the sea went swish. Just one wave. Like it was answering him.

Chapter 2: The Seal Pup and the Storm

The next morning, the cove is grey and quiet. Rohan bowls cricket balls at the water, shouting numbers. Aanya draws big numbers in the sand with a stick.

⟨Character 2⟩: Three! That’s three! Come on, sea, say three!

⟨Character 1⟩: One, two. One, two. It’s not listening, Rohan.

⟨Character 2⟩: I’ve thrown twenty balls. It just goes swish, swish. Maybe it doesn’t like cricket.

⟨Character 1⟩: Look! There’s a seal pup tangled in the seaweed!

A small seal pup twists in a knot of dark weed. Aanya and Rohan run to it. Rohan pulls the weed, Aanya holds the pup steady.

⟨Character 2⟩: There. You’re free. Go on, back to the water.

⟨Character 1⟩: It’s not going. It’s just sitting there, watching us.

⟨Character 3⟩: We should get inside. Those clouds are turning black.

Thunder cracks. Aanya runs behind Kamala. The sea churns and stops counting entirely.

That evening, rain lashes the lighthouse windows. ⟨Character 4⟩ hides under the table. Rohan paces the kitchen floor.

⟨Character 2⟩: It was supposed to work. I had a whole plan. Fifty balls, fifty waves. Now it won’t even say two.

⟨Character 3⟩: Children, I have to tell you something. I forgot the party is tomorrow. Not in three days. Tomorrow. The whole town is coming.

⟨Character 1⟩: The sea is scared. Like me. When it thunders, I want to hide too. Maybe that’s why it stopped counting.

A thunderclap shakes the windows. ⟨Character 4⟩ howls from under the table. Outside, the sea answers with one clear wave.

⟨Character 3⟩: Did you hear that? ⟨Character 4⟩ howled, and the sea answered. One wave. Just one. What if the sea needs a sound it knows? Something familiar.

⟨Character 1⟩: Like a song? You sing old songs when you cook. Does the sea know those?

⟨Character 3⟩: Maybe it does. Or maybe it knows a howl. We’ll find out tomorrow. Tonight, we rest.

Chapter 3: The Counting Party

Morning comes bright and clean. Sunlight spreads over the cove. Kamala, Aanya, Rohan, and ⟨Character 4⟩ stand at the water’s edge, and the seal pup watches from the rocks.

⟨Character 2⟩: Let ⟨Character 4⟩ howl first. If the sea answered him once, it’ll answer again.

⟨Character 3⟩: Then I’ll sing my old Tamil counting song. One, two, three, four. Music might help it remember.

⟨Character 4⟩ plants his paws in the wet sand and howls. The sea answers with three small waves.

⟨Character 1⟩: Three! It said three! Keep going, ⟨Character 4⟩!

⟨Character 3⟩: Onru, rendu, moonru, naangu. One, two, three, four.

⟨Character 4⟩ howls. The sea answers with five, then six. The numbers roll in like soft applause. Aanya takes a deep breath and counts along.

⟨Character 1⟩: Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten! Grandma, it reached ten!

The first party guests appear on the path, calling out. The sea keeps counting softly for all of them, one to ten, one to ten.

⟨Character 3⟩: It’s not ‘one to ten, one to ten’ anymore. Listen. It’s counting that way. Rohan, give ⟨Character 4⟩ some credit. He started it.

⟨Character 2⟩: Fine. The dog had the best idea. I’ll say it. Now let me watch the sea count for the party.

After the party, the lighthouse is warm and quiet. ⟨Character 4⟩ sleeps on Rohan’s feet. Aanya shows Kamala a drawing of a rocket. A small beam of light sits on top of it.

⟨Character 3⟩: This is luminous, Aanya. It glows.

⟨Character 1⟩: Luminous? What does that mean?

⟨Character 3⟩: It means it gives out light, like the lighthouse beam turning round and round. Like your rocket in the dark.

⟨Character 1⟩: Luminous. I like that word.

Outside, the sea counts softly. One, two, three, four, up to ten, then back again. ⟨Character 4⟩ snores. Everyone settles down.