Mist dusted the glassy surface of the water.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nTLUBI618
Dawn, placid and cool with early spring,816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeGJOqkq4tY
the boy dipped the top of his head into the air.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25tnFTRiN7
Gaze dark as jet scanned the shoreline816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWrwvlsN9f2
where homes sprouted moss beyond the sandy ribbon of beach.
A gull chopped a warbled caw,816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsMXxMxM1eL
Dipped then spun onto the brine.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEjDhWTg75F
The seals had left him, preferring the safety of the jagged stones.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ92i3bhykUA
Cagily as a crab at low tide, he paddled with pale arms816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYjQlmzPOQ
towards the land.
The boy had once had a human name816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn927f0SIw4
one his tongue had never learned to say816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6eP2O10ar
but that his mother had never forgotten.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1LPgWUK5Bm
The seals had called him their own816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBG86gan8YF
as long as he could remember.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRB9LuHSOi
816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaSjAYNGDHH
All was silent, as it hadn’t been in months.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡisNiBNhlvd
Not since the giant, creaking monsters like iron land whales816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUSV0RqaA6
could be spotted amid a garden of smoke and noise.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCRNSZDYI1v
Noise that filled his lungs like salt,816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKdRdr7dVm
the boy was terrified by the chaos and yet drawn to it816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZgCYOAUPF
as his humanity drove him towards the danger.
The seals did not argue. Nor did the gulls.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqRYSGOU2za
Fourteen years were enough to teach him what they could816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo62Zx69k3N
and now it was his choice to make.
Naked with wrinkled toes and fingers,816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3o8FLdJtd
Cold dripping from his black curls,816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecDeoUTDet
the boy made landfall and crawled onto the shore.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNnSoN7vYf
Legs like a newborn lamb, he stumbled up towards the village.
There was a white washed cottage with a row of sea roses,816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaEPHquj5fB
frothy smoke trailing up from the chimney in the thatch roof.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQmzLc7CVSr
The boy paused at an eruption of voices within.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqR7TfvBjRO
He hid and watched.
A man with tall, shining boots of black816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCWCGOom8J
buttons like bright shells down his barreled chest816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGkl64l2iiw
Gripped the arm of an old man,816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHD6MEV2lV5
bent and craggy as rocks pockmarked by barnacles816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZlSC8qOfG
slathered in seaweed.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajKzq7gNBc
816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRY3kJjhsr0
On the old man’s chest, a strange symbol,816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1xLXq3of7d
a starfish in tide pools but bright yellow.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEhZBz6jSu
Cut roughly and sewn onto his sweater816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5BQBBYo9v
like the brands the boy had watched farmers give their cattle816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HJ9rW7NNx
on fields lining the grey ocean.
The boy had seen before what the man in his boots and buttons held.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡycfspxA0R1
When the noise had begun on the shores,816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhKRYCShIL
he had seen them used before on other men816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl0QNZoJJ3C
a horrible bang and so much gore,816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQf2wDamtqP
leaving drifting tendrils of smoky red in the water.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZo7vaDiAm
816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakETD4uF5a
A sharp pop, like when the strong waves find a crevice in the rocks816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡax4j6wLb3v
and the old man goes still on the soggy ground.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1dsxMJI40
The boy watches silently as the other man walks away without another look.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERYm5vY0IY
The old man stirs, a ragged breath that pains the boy to hear.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsnMOnA72Yo
He edges up towards the cottage816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgACkrOkiT
crimson soaking between the cracks in the rock walkway.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzm6LRQPjpN
The boys leaves bare footprints in blood that isn’t his own.
Crouching by the man, he grips his hand till it goes limp.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXX6RrSOaM
The boy doesn’t know why he needed to do it.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1T3k5IsPBI
His couldn’t imagine not.816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxrMiyBgFk
One last look at the ruin of the world816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl46J6DtB6T
and the boy makes his choice.
He rips the cloth star from the man’s sweater816Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡexk09qjink
and returns to the sea.
