Book Introduction: Whispers by the Waterfall Piketown is the kind of place that seems to have been plucked from a postcard. Rolling hills cradle the small town, which nestles quietly just forty minutes from the pulsing heart of the city. Here, time slows. The days are measured by the laughter of children in the park, the clink of milkshake glasses at the lone diner, and the hush of wind through the trees that line the town’s many waterfalls. Yet, for all its peaceful charm, Piketown has always held an undercurrent of secrets—like the dark pools beneath the falls where the teens gather each summer, daring each other to leap into the unknown. At the center of this world are two sisters: Kayla and Chelsea. Kayla, seventeen, is the quintessential older sibling—protective, confident, her tanned skin and emerald eyes a striking contrast to her younger sister’s fairer looks. Chelsea, fifteen, is taller, with shoulder-length blond-brown hair and piercing blue eyes. Despite their differences, the sisters share an unbreakable bond, forged in shared adventures and whispered midnight dreams. The rhythms of their lives are predictable. After school, they gravitate toward the diner—Piketown’s social hub—where the neon sign flickers like a beacon, inviting students and families alike to its red booths and checkered floors. It’s here that Kayla laughs with Matt, her boyfriend whose devotion sometimes feels overwhelming. Matt is tall and athletic, his brown eyes softening whenever Kayla is near. He is training to be a firefighter, eager to play the hero in a town where excitement is often in short supply. Chelsea, meanwhile, is drawn to Jake—a mysterious older boy with a reputation as enigmatic as his glinting smile. While he claims to be sixteen, Jake is actually eighteen, and his charm masks a darker side that few have glimpsed. Chelsea’s friends, especially Nic, her loyal and steadfast best friend, warn her to stay away. Nic is sixteen, tall and muscular from hours at the gym, with striking ice-blue eyes that see more than he lets on. His protectiveness towards Chelsea goes beyond friendship, even if he can’t admit it to himself. Together with their circle—Matt, Jake, Nic, and friends like Emily, Isabella, Steve, Jane, and Paul—the sisters navigate the turbulence of growing up in a town where everyone knows everyone, yet no one truly knows what happens when the sun goes down and whispers float on the mist rising from the waterfall. For the teens of Piketown, the waterfall is more than a landmark. It’s a rite of passage, a place of freedom and recklessness. They jump from the rocks into the deep, cold pool below, gather around bonfires that burn late into the night, and share secrets in the dark—secrets that sometimes come back to haunt them. This summer, however, something is different. An undercurrent of tension snakes through the group. Chelsea and Jake’s flirtation grows more intense, even as rumors swirl about Jake’s past. Matt’s protectiveness over Kayla deepens into obsession, making her question the limits of love and loyalty. Nic, caught between friendship and longing, watches helplessly as Chelsea is drawn ever closer to danger. When a series of unsettling incidents shatter Piketown’s fragile calm, the teens are forced to confront the darkest corners of themselves and each other. Loyalties are tested, hearts are broken, and the line between friend and foe blurs as the truth about Jake—and the tragedy lurking beneath the surface—begins to emerge. Whispers by the Waterfall, is a tale of suspense and romance, of first love and first betrayal, set against the backdrop of a town where the past is never truly buried and every secret has its echo. As the summer unfolds, Kayla and Chelsea must rely on each other—and the strength of their bond—to survive the shadows that gather at the edge of the water, and the whispers that threaten to pull them under.