Mist dusted the glassy surface of the water.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnYc4COwNWx
Dawn, placid and cool with early spring,674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNkgkTmfHL
the boy dipped the top of his head into the air.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WFrxNx7fN
Gaze dark as jet scanned the shoreline674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbjJ4TAzu3m
where homes sprouted moss beyond the sandy ribbon of beach.
A gull chopped a warbled caw,674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcWBqluO1z
Dipped then spun onto the brine.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE3QYoXvOMY
The seals had left him, preferring the safety of the jagged stones.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡziXJ4EtHDI
Cagily as a crab at low tide, he paddled with pale arms674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT0dFFJpd3E
towards the land.
The boy had once had a human name674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm3YrWOfKe3
one his tongue had never learned to say674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFUHKqxegi
but that his mother had never forgotten.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJ7i2Hwwtx
The seals had called him their own674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvBHyE26FZm
as long as he could remember.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxP75qcUxMY
674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ63wQk4GXJk
All was silent, as it hadn’t been in months.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡETeMldtBoS
Not since the giant, creaking monsters like iron land whales674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSiCODRERsW
could be spotted amid a garden of smoke and noise.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgyS2DoTfYp
Noise that filled his lungs like salt,674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5X8EOzeeDX
the boy was terrified by the chaos and yet drawn to it674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAc2HmMkBDw
as his humanity drove him towards the danger.
The seals did not argue. Nor did the gulls.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWzE6sw1Ef
Fourteen years were enough to teach him what they could674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzHTaz5zLa
and now it was his choice to make.
Naked with wrinkled toes and fingers,674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYZgaQAkEZH
Cold dripping from his black curls,674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnudwn72Ml7
the boy made landfall and crawled onto the shore.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcQkil1KNr
Legs like a newborn lamb, he stumbled up towards the village.
There was a white washed cottage with a row of sea roses,674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsHxrze53Rg
frothy smoke trailing up from the chimney in the thatch roof.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdFQM2fSVi
The boy paused at an eruption of voices within.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ99auCbBeSZ
He hid and watched.
A man with tall, shining boots of black674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc75kkdOyST
buttons like bright shells down his barreled chest674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wDYHRoqjM
Gripped the arm of an old man,674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6G0r4jVcU
bent and craggy as rocks pockmarked by barnacles674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyNaoYqso3o
slathered in seaweed.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHASjR3Jn3
674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pBVCW01Im
On the old man’s chest, a strange symbol,674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVjtDt1VNYn
a starfish in tide pools but bright yellow.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgODyVL1U0
Cut roughly and sewn onto his sweater674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KTykDto2D
like the brands the boy had watched farmers give their cattle674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTYGvdPfEWa
on fields lining the grey ocean.
The boy had seen before what the man in his boots and buttons held.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3u0yhZDM4
When the noise had begun on the shores,674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhacRavNtM
he had seen them used before on other men674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSa3ywFv0O
a horrible bang and so much gore,674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFo1hBvLEm
leaving drifting tendrils of smoky red in the water.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfbkUJsprV
674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslVLUJHV8U
A sharp pop, like when the strong waves find a crevice in the rocks674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5CCnVpqt6
and the old man goes still on the soggy ground.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxL5avvdCC
The boy watches silently as the other man walks away without another look.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnKg3AwmWw1
The old man stirs, a ragged breath that pains the boy to hear.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvzgz48uKH
He edges up towards the cottage674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLnYFBnvd2
crimson soaking between the cracks in the rock walkway.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO21uKHCs3I
The boys leaves bare footprints in blood that isn’t his own.
Crouching by the man, he grips his hand till it goes limp.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2HAUapV3X
The boy doesn’t know why he needed to do it.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2fsPqLSbx
His couldn’t imagine not.674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1VotyjdEk
One last look at the ruin of the world674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMk0LBBmFZj
and the boy makes his choice.
He rips the cloth star from the man’s sweater674Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKXrb4fpiTu
and returns to the sea.
