Mist dusted the glassy surface of the water.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9v3D71yFa
Dawn, placid and cool with early spring,773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Y7D1jD9dn
the boy dipped the top of his head into the air.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsWch0LFGN
Gaze dark as jet scanned the shoreline773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0eDCuaF21C
where homes sprouted moss beyond the sandy ribbon of beach.
A gull chopped a warbled caw,773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFjxuj0oPd
Dipped then spun onto the brine.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwcknH0yLrX
The seals had left him, preferring the safety of the jagged stones.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlU6ztpVHx
Cagily as a crab at low tide, he paddled with pale arms773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrM0mbVMoqp
towards the land.
The boy had once had a human name773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡln370RP5z0
one his tongue had never learned to say773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfU9U2wUgE
but that his mother had never forgotten.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7QM6Uk1Q9g
The seals had called him their own773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2yyvaFj53K
as long as he could remember.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3dZ9t4X7M
773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1oXyvsqfD
All was silent, as it hadn’t been in months.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jDdjvlbEs
Not since the giant, creaking monsters like iron land whales773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlxlxHyF0E3
could be spotted amid a garden of smoke and noise.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyNwEDiOvvM
Noise that filled his lungs like salt,773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2vWqoldlf
the boy was terrified by the chaos and yet drawn to it773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPdoHrbtfR
as his humanity drove him towards the danger.
The seals did not argue. Nor did the gulls.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXQQKSIlLn
Fourteen years were enough to teach him what they could773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXb68kdWrxD
and now it was his choice to make.
Naked with wrinkled toes and fingers,773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW2nao2H9Xc
Cold dripping from his black curls,773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2LF0oAu7T6
the boy made landfall and crawled onto the shore.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkzSZ9EVNBa
Legs like a newborn lamb, he stumbled up towards the village.
There was a white washed cottage with a row of sea roses,773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3uKB6D7xJ
frothy smoke trailing up from the chimney in the thatch roof.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOwZdUNR9Jm
The boy paused at an eruption of voices within.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBeugsUycy6
He hid and watched.
A man with tall, shining boots of black773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbhowqXkgk
buttons like bright shells down his barreled chest773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4yICQ1N3SX
Gripped the arm of an old man,773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3fDNV5u652
bent and craggy as rocks pockmarked by barnacles773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnftlDiX9wq
slathered in seaweed.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJwfKIBUfX
773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmCMRahKeyf
On the old man’s chest, a strange symbol,773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTXsxEx4mQE
a starfish in tide pools but bright yellow.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzCYf5WIEo
Cut roughly and sewn onto his sweater773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIAELO6ZO1
like the brands the boy had watched farmers give their cattle773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb7BmFVCTz4
on fields lining the grey ocean.
The boy had seen before what the man in his boots and buttons held.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAI3UdCN0Fu
When the noise had begun on the shores,773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGcQo2hmY0
he had seen them used before on other men773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTsagh1FF7
a horrible bang and so much gore,773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYkEk31Okr8
leaving drifting tendrils of smoky red in the water.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyBli02eRNr
773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOghegHSRz
A sharp pop, like when the strong waves find a crevice in the rocks773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvyGh2SwOE
and the old man goes still on the soggy ground.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVLO9wasTjU
The boy watches silently as the other man walks away without another look.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbzdHPKdOwh
The old man stirs, a ragged breath that pains the boy to hear.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxHgmvgJy4
He edges up towards the cottage773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67wlaLMHN6
crimson soaking between the cracks in the rock walkway.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPdfpH6hfRs
The boys leaves bare footprints in blood that isn’t his own.
Crouching by the man, he grips his hand till it goes limp.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmXwPvMg4W
The boy doesn’t know why he needed to do it.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ep9EQOm8M
His couldn’t imagine not.773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX8C5P0ElX2
One last look at the ruin of the world773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNpkv9PMWc
and the boy makes his choice.
He rips the cloth star from the man’s sweater773Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9oPSgavaH
and returns to the sea.
