“Brawk! Welcome to Paradise Falls! Brawk”

With my large tote bag slung over my shoulder, I looked up at the parrot sitting on a swing hanging from a tall pole. A leather leash kept him tethered to the swing. My best friend Caitlin Morgan, her brother, Sean, and I had just passed through the entrance to Paradise Falls water park.

A sign warned not to deed the parrot. Still, Sean reached up and offered the bird some sort of treat.

“Brawk! Thanks, mate. Brawk!”

Sean grinned. “I taught him that last summer when I worked here and taking care of him was part of my duties.”

“Isn’t that against park rules, to feed him?” Caitlin asked.

“The rules apply to guests, not employees,” Sean said.

Sean had this real Men in Black thing going. Black jeans. Black T-shirt that was maybe a size too small and showed off the muscles that I knew he’d been working out to get. He had black hair that fell across his brow. All that black made his startling blue eyes really stand out – when his eyes were visible. Right now they were hidden behind dark sunglasses. But then so were mine and Caitlin’s. We’d been to the water park enough times as guest to know that the sun reflecting off the water and cement was glaringly bright.

“It’s so quiet,” Caitlin said as we followed the path to the main part of the park. “It’s kinda eerie.”