Mist dusted the glassy surface of the water.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeGRUJdw3tx
Dawn, placid and cool with early spring,818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ190XEQLEl8
the boy dipped the top of his head into the air.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8BDJ8TMQN
Gaze dark as jet scanned the shoreline818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCSBBR9NDs
where homes sprouted moss beyond the sandy ribbon of beach.
A gull chopped a warbled caw,818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD12m6TQeKp
Dipped then spun onto the brine.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHqJWxmUBp
The seals had left him, preferring the safety of the jagged stones.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSTEGYC5P7
Cagily as a crab at low tide, he paddled with pale arms818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ34diQTeuk
towards the land.
The boy had once had a human name818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvSYbkMha4
one his tongue had never learned to say818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2Edy98wJH
but that his mother had never forgotten.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe41Rx6MJ0K
The seals had called him their own818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiLH4cuG1gr
as long as he could remember.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0987l62fx
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXO4IlXqe9g
All was silent, as it hadn’t been in months.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpIhO9tKRZQ
Not since the giant, creaking monsters like iron land whales818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgawZGcJXaQ
could be spotted amid a garden of smoke and noise.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡatygUmF6eN
Noise that filled his lungs like salt,818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpta1HwUit
the boy was terrified by the chaos and yet drawn to it818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4e7Vk8zzDk
as his humanity drove him towards the danger.
The seals did not argue. Nor did the gulls.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzFsqbeAg8
Fourteen years were enough to teach him what they could818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1xTMSKKWU4
and now it was his choice to make.
Naked with wrinkled toes and fingers,818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6cxDXzRXpS
Cold dripping from his black curls,818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡauEnYWBEUs
the boy made landfall and crawled onto the shore.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFqdwaTGuRe
Legs like a newborn lamb, he stumbled up towards the village.
There was a white washed cottage with a row of sea roses,818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsc9jnUWpU
frothy smoke trailing up from the chimney in the thatch roof.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbbcZw2Pq0o
The boy paused at an eruption of voices within.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsANuTpgEJW
He hid and watched.
A man with tall, shining boots of black818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwsi3s2fsou
buttons like bright shells down his barreled chest818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2YzfdPwAvk
Gripped the arm of an old man,818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmMbZGBe76
bent and craggy as rocks pockmarked by barnacles818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCLO7ftW25k
slathered in seaweed.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYNC0zX3DN
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1yevCgyAHZ
On the old man’s chest, a strange symbol,818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpuCAuz9Tw9
a starfish in tide pools but bright yellow.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNaMufteUrA
Cut roughly and sewn onto his sweater818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdSbAgpjIeI
like the brands the boy had watched farmers give their cattle818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxy8XiT3pF
on fields lining the grey ocean.
The boy had seen before what the man in his boots and buttons held.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDymC6XGlD
When the noise had begun on the shores,818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvKqE183Ord
he had seen them used before on other men818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9rgAdytcf
a horrible bang and so much gore,818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWKSA4lltU
leaving drifting tendrils of smoky red in the water.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEzIBN8r9Ux
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ88QBRAs0Or
A sharp pop, like when the strong waves find a crevice in the rocks818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMOLEpL0yR
and the old man goes still on the soggy ground.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5HLb00JRI
The boy watches silently as the other man walks away without another look.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZMqpd5rZL
The old man stirs, a ragged breath that pains the boy to hear.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZwuj9phQe
He edges up towards the cottage818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmWyoNkROEQ
crimson soaking between the cracks in the rock walkway.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSip89nK93p
The boys leaves bare footprints in blood that isn’t his own.
Crouching by the man, he grips his hand till it goes limp.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqZ6Xi7eO2
The boy doesn’t know why he needed to do it.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu4vCKS3qeT
His couldn’t imagine not.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMdix6GuFZ
One last look at the ruin of the world818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWjl3M4YLeJ
and the boy makes his choice.
He rips the cloth star from the man’s sweater818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZy6ujOxsh
and returns to the sea.
