Free Cicada Summer by Kate Constable

visible in the background, tall trees with sunshine dazzling off their leaves, bushes studded with golden flowers. A window to another world, the whole point to the painting.
    The house was inside the picture, and outside it. The house had turned inside out, the same way time had turned inside out, folding Eloise into the past and shaking her out again into the present.
    ‘I’m tired,’ groaned Anna, and flung herself down.
    ‘Mm,’ said Eloise. Just a shimmer of bright blue sky beyond the roof . . .
    ‘Sit with me.’ The edge of a whine in Anna’s voice showed how tired she was. ‘You can finish that later.’
    ‘Mm . . .’
    Anna unfolded herself and planted her fists on her hips. ‘Come outside . It’s too dark in here. Come out in the sun .’
    Anna was right; the sun had swung around, it was almost too dark to see. Eloise dropped her brush into the water jar with a sigh, and stepped back to look at the picture.
    It was finished. And it was good. It was better than good.
    Eloise felt a wide smile stretch across her face. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked . It was the first time she’d made something that matched, or almost matched, the idea in her head; it was the first time she’d ever wanted to show off something she’d painted. She felt as if her chest would burst. She wanted everyone in the world to see it.
    But Anna had seen it. Her mother had seen a picture that Eloise had painted, a good picture, maybe the first really good picture she’d ever made. Even if no one else in the world ever looked at it, that was something.
    Eloise flung her arms into the air and whooped for joy. Anna whooped, too – not quite as elated as Eloise but prepared to be carried along by Eloise’s delight. Eloise grabbed Anna’s hands and swung her around, out into the afternoon sunshine and danced her around the pool. ‘It’s done, it’s done!’ she sang, and then she threw Anna’s hands away, spun a pirouette and jumped into the pool, clothes and all.
    She heard Anna shriek, and then a tremendous splash, and Anna was in the water too, almost on top of her, screaming and spluttering. Eloise ducked away. Anna thrashed and gasped, churning the water desperately till she reached the side and clung there by her fingertips. ‘Oh!’ she gasped, breathless. ‘That was fun !’
    ‘I thought you were drowning!’ shouted Eloise, and splashed her, and Anna splashed back, and they both screamed and ducked and splashed again, dragged down by their wet clothes, until they were breathless. Eloise swam over and rested her arms on the side of the pool beside Anna.
    Anna pushed herself away into the water by her fingertips and pulled herself in again. Suddenly she said, ‘What’s your name?’
    ‘Eloise.’
    ‘Eloise?’ repeated Anna blankly. Her face changed. She said again, ‘Eloise’, carefully, as if she were tasting it. She gave a solemn nod.
    Eloise hadn’t really realised that Anna didn’t know her name; all this time, she’d never asked.
    Suddenly Anna smiled into Eloise’s face. ‘Eloise!’ she sang. ‘Will you teach me how to swim?’
    ‘Okay,’ said Eloise, and she splashed Anna in the face again. Anna screamed and ducked away.
    Neither of them noticed the tall man standing by the pool’s side, his face dark with anger.
    ‘Anna. Anna! ’ Both girls looked round, struck dumb with shock.
    ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing? Get out of the pool right now.’
    ‘Dad—’ Anna faltered. But she clutched at the edge and tried to haul herself out. Her father grabbed her wrist and yanked her roughly from the water.
    ‘How many times?’ He was shaking her. ‘How many times have we told you not to go swimming alone?’
    ‘But Dad, I’m not—’ stuttered Anna.
    Eloise trod water, her heart pounding. Anna’s dad glared at Anna, then swept his furious gaze all around the pool, across Eloise and back to Anna. He shook her again.
    ‘What rubbish is this now? There’s no one here but