Taniwha Creek

They decided on one more quick swim before heading home. They raced back and forth, pulling against the current and enjoying the challenge of muscle against water. Finally, they dragged themselves back to land, tired and happy. Kaz said, “Taniwha Creek is a cool place to live. I love having a waterhole to kick about in.” JT chuckled. “Hey, I wonder if we disturbed the taniwha’s afternoon nap?” The other boys rolled their eyes. “Better watch out if you did, young Johan,” Kaz teased. “It might come and get you for dinner.” They laughed and sat upright, looking into the dark depths, eddies of water swirling around further down the river. As a cloud passed over the sun, the area turned charcoal grey and opaque and suddenly the water seemed menacing. “My mum says that some old people from this area talk about a legend that says the river and mountain are protected by a taniwha and that some people have even seen it,” Tai informed his friends. “Does it look like the Loch Ness monster, do you think?” Kaz asked. “I don’t really know; my mum and dad have never seen one,” Tai admitted. “But one time I heard my Nan's friend Mrs. Robertson talking about the taniwha when I was at a funeral, and she said something about it appearing as a boulder or a log or an animal. Something from nature that you look at and think, Huh, where did that come from?, or something like that.” The boys stared at the river, half-expecting to see something. As they scanned the water, they suddenly felt a slight chill on their damp skin. The flow of the river seemed faster all of a sudden, and the water had lost its welcoming glisten. “Best go home for dinner, hey, buds?” JT murmured as he stood up and brushed sand off his wet shorts. The other boys followed suit, flung their gear over their shoulders once again, and climbed the bank. Kaz, last in line, glanced over his shoulder. As he turned back around, out of the corner of his eye he spied a log twirling in a full circle in the spot they had bombed under the willow tree. But then it stopped and twirled the other way. He shook his head as if to erase the flicker of surprise that he felt, and he quickly caught up with the other boys, taking a deep breath as he walked. He had a strange feeling that something was watching them.