and he looks at me now , a twinkle in his eye , a grin on his face- and though i ca n't hear him- i know him- i know what he 's thinking- right now , at this moment of all moments , i can read todd hewitt without hearing his noise- and he sees me doing it- and for an instant- we know each other again- and i can just feel the strength of us as he turns back to the mayor- and he does n't hit him with noise- he sends a low buzz through the air- `` walk backwards , '' todd says to the mayor , who 's slowly got to his feet , holding his wrist- and he starts to walk backwards- backwards towards the surf- `` todd ? ''