Mist dusted the glassy surface of the water.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkbx2EdnRw
Dawn, placid and cool with early spring,747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2psKcqJvc
the boy dipped the top of his head into the air.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IVIzrRcRM
Gaze dark as jet scanned the shoreline747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx7wZ95d1pA
where homes sprouted moss beyond the sandy ribbon of beach.
A gull chopped a warbled caw,747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzrzeYZG8yw
Dipped then spun onto the brine.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrpfPBA2BG6
The seals had left him, preferring the safety of the jagged stones.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZjGSIcQuc
Cagily as a crab at low tide, he paddled with pale arms747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt3vHPTwpSM
towards the land.
The boy had once had a human name747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGymuWGGip
one his tongue had never learned to say747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3g47xlz6Q
but that his mother had never forgotten.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2M3QgBm2ER
The seals had called him their own747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrakYIe7iu
as long as he could remember.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFuo9rp7dES
747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSE7nJTuaIb
All was silent, as it hadn’t been in months.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXnGt7JVsWK
Not since the giant, creaking monsters like iron land whales747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NDS792SN0
could be spotted amid a garden of smoke and noise.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6feE4itzn
Noise that filled his lungs like salt,747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9bT4A7zsoO
the boy was terrified by the chaos and yet drawn to it747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxLa2chGUj
as his humanity drove him towards the danger.
The seals did not argue. Nor did the gulls.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkr8zZq1SNF
Fourteen years were enough to teach him what they could747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQSlJfY5r0
and now it was his choice to make.
Naked with wrinkled toes and fingers,747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJA5ofrUmK
Cold dripping from his black curls,747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8XEpC5RV1
the boy made landfall and crawled onto the shore.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCwpgB7lb5
Legs like a newborn lamb, he stumbled up towards the village.
There was a white washed cottage with a row of sea roses,747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡguIqiHoiqF
frothy smoke trailing up from the chimney in the thatch roof.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHmW5ONIRW
The boy paused at an eruption of voices within.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpUkK2mT0DL
He hid and watched.
A man with tall, shining boots of black747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡknu4MWP6kl
buttons like bright shells down his barreled chest747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvMguR3QHQw
Gripped the arm of an old man,747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡED1DWURRPU
bent and craggy as rocks pockmarked by barnacles747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqlYtDDJI4c
slathered in seaweed.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3GYrmMh5wb
747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACbZbKMrIx
On the old man’s chest, a strange symbol,747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvhlFBphwhl
a starfish in tide pools but bright yellow.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUE1JGjuEe
Cut roughly and sewn onto his sweater747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvYmLjxxnYq
like the brands the boy had watched farmers give their cattle747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfB53KJbZSv
on fields lining the grey ocean.
The boy had seen before what the man in his boots and buttons held.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6jjt4octk
When the noise had begun on the shores,747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBRUJkPMrg
he had seen them used before on other men747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv2iw6by1ZU
a horrible bang and so much gore,747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOMvnTXoCM
leaving drifting tendrils of smoky red in the water.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDcA2S5Pshw
747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYgx6xKGNj
A sharp pop, like when the strong waves find a crevice in the rocks747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzyl30ZcFKO
and the old man goes still on the soggy ground.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCb5nkJoaJ
The boy watches silently as the other man walks away without another look.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOutX9jNtwY
The old man stirs, a ragged breath that pains the boy to hear.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Mjipj5fHZ
He edges up towards the cottage747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkjfXSlkcQX
crimson soaking between the cracks in the rock walkway.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTaLdoIwrcX
The boys leaves bare footprints in blood that isn’t his own.
Crouching by the man, he grips his hand till it goes limp.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ622dPZXSJY
The boy doesn’t know why he needed to do it.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlysrAlIBAp
His couldn’t imagine not.747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRR0Thrj9wj
One last look at the ruin of the world747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCwRWTmd948
and the boy makes his choice.
He rips the cloth star from the man’s sweater747Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJXsMNqnN9
and returns to the sea.
