Mist dusted the glassy surface of the water.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVuoLnfc9g
Dawn, placid and cool with early spring,676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdKfRqU06n
the boy dipped the top of his head into the air.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBiMTispK7a
Gaze dark as jet scanned the shoreline676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRLY353BHgJ
where homes sprouted moss beyond the sandy ribbon of beach.
A gull chopped a warbled caw,676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtLcpEtHj7M
Dipped then spun onto the brine.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH697KdD7tU
The seals had left him, preferring the safety of the jagged stones.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3711uUZIO
Cagily as a crab at low tide, he paddled with pale arms676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLl5ZpmTj7
towards the land.
The boy had once had a human name676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2zOUFMVwX0
one his tongue had never learned to say676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡas5XlDvvoC
but that his mother had never forgotten.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNB7yx22AsR
The seals had called him their own676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHA1nitgGWN
as long as he could remember.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3wRvIbMT4
676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1NwN9t1o11
All was silent, as it hadn’t been in months.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl517DFWx2d
Not since the giant, creaking monsters like iron land whales676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡucxk6fm4ks
could be spotted amid a garden of smoke and noise.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmvBDNw7a2P
Noise that filled his lungs like salt,676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLV541LbMQd
the boy was terrified by the chaos and yet drawn to it676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0XRvVakZrI
as his humanity drove him towards the danger.
The seals did not argue. Nor did the gulls.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7p6dzVVT0
Fourteen years were enough to teach him what they could676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdq57LARZyK
and now it was his choice to make.
Naked with wrinkled toes and fingers,676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUT3x6kvHF
Cold dripping from his black curls,676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVeUZm0snW
the boy made landfall and crawled onto the shore.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡptBe3LsbJn
Legs like a newborn lamb, he stumbled up towards the village.
There was a white washed cottage with a row of sea roses,676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPC6JOTMWcz
frothy smoke trailing up from the chimney in the thatch roof.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBHrNxt2Bi
The boy paused at an eruption of voices within.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1F5DvMySt0
He hid and watched.
A man with tall, shining boots of black676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY4Gdg9DHtB
buttons like bright shells down his barreled chest676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZkuhdMXuHB
Gripped the arm of an old man,676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwcBYt0WJV
bent and craggy as rocks pockmarked by barnacles676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo8CuhbXSV0
slathered in seaweed.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGgr4Ny7t3
676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrA3hebNHv
On the old man’s chest, a strange symbol,676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZB7oGmSqr
a starfish in tide pools but bright yellow.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzMiMj0zOw
Cut roughly and sewn onto his sweater676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGfgF6D8N61
like the brands the boy had watched farmers give their cattle676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbz2w9DBnI
on fields lining the grey ocean.
The boy had seen before what the man in his boots and buttons held.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5TbECE1LLd
When the noise had begun on the shores,676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWyzHgh0aCN
he had seen them used before on other men676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2m8iNn5ghr
a horrible bang and so much gore,676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMltdK56VX
leaving drifting tendrils of smoky red in the water.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJnCQqYpIW5
676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkGgly5MZx
A sharp pop, like when the strong waves find a crevice in the rocks676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB5ofGp9tL2
and the old man goes still on the soggy ground.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRs1gwGPyA
The boy watches silently as the other man walks away without another look.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPz477LIz7X
The old man stirs, a ragged breath that pains the boy to hear.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuYgb6FPEDy
He edges up towards the cottage676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNRoPXLa6u
crimson soaking between the cracks in the rock walkway.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1MRAeb1KZ
The boys leaves bare footprints in blood that isn’t his own.
Crouching by the man, he grips his hand till it goes limp.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuobxKwyQp
The boy doesn’t know why he needed to do it.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvz3uGozTpB
His couldn’t imagine not.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5LkhBtVVev
One last look at the ruin of the world676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7puWFj52wl
and the boy makes his choice.
He rips the cloth star from the man’s sweater676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqxr387KFAM
and returns to the sea.
