Mist dusted the glassy surface of the water.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIzNbbPpO5N
Dawn, placid and cool with early spring,814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDitz345Tbv
the boy dipped the top of his head into the air.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbg3Xx9HWQX
Gaze dark as jet scanned the shoreline814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7jQ5KjTQ09
where homes sprouted moss beyond the sandy ribbon of beach.
A gull chopped a warbled caw,814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3yAnrfaiXh
Dipped then spun onto the brine.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEOzYAs4IQ7
The seals had left him, preferring the safety of the jagged stones.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7MtTwFaFko
Cagily as a crab at low tide, he paddled with pale arms814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOyYkn7yoLV
towards the land.
The boy had once had a human name814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuJpdGq3HqI
one his tongue had never learned to say814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr9QFXvgYmN
but that his mother had never forgotten.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhsguPARDqQ
The seals had called him their own814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdHZuJ17nku
as long as he could remember.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxAhfDL9Wi
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7N1ZvYCnEE
All was silent, as it hadn’t been in months.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgAvAiG3txW
Not since the giant, creaking monsters like iron land whales814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSUXxc54Cs
could be spotted amid a garden of smoke and noise.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1JUJifkWoo
Noise that filled his lungs like salt,814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9jspMuut0
the boy was terrified by the chaos and yet drawn to it814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLbVHYv3uof
as his humanity drove him towards the danger.
The seals did not argue. Nor did the gulls.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFA6qkZUPI8
Fourteen years were enough to teach him what they could814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZrFpW73T0J
and now it was his choice to make.
Naked with wrinkled toes and fingers,814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9AKUUShqSX
Cold dripping from his black curls,814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxBFJ1d69Y1
the boy made landfall and crawled onto the shore.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZB0D3dPEQw
Legs like a newborn lamb, he stumbled up towards the village.
There was a white washed cottage with a row of sea roses,814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYNjhDUmaK0
frothy smoke trailing up from the chimney in the thatch roof.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZBlNktiyl
The boy paused at an eruption of voices within.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Si6DY6fOa
He hid and watched.
A man with tall, shining boots of black814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrpv2hxXnx1
buttons like bright shells down his barreled chest814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJEgDJU94z
Gripped the arm of an old man,814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPjkheB7tr
bent and craggy as rocks pockmarked by barnacles814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2LvngwbwW
slathered in seaweed.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZojFndXBl
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsUOzONZngS
On the old man’s chest, a strange symbol,814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf5sBMJmYJx
a starfish in tide pools but bright yellow.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhpw1EoqYZz
Cut roughly and sewn onto his sweater814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBBlXH8FSS
like the brands the boy had watched farmers give their cattle814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNE0evlhOl
on fields lining the grey ocean.
The boy had seen before what the man in his boots and buttons held.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QXaDq3LqD
When the noise had begun on the shores,814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQz5nUzXQT
he had seen them used before on other men814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzIaOLnDpqp
a horrible bang and so much gore,814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSCSEGTMuqB
leaving drifting tendrils of smoky red in the water.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgo7zFyFazQ
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAuuyybsqa
A sharp pop, like when the strong waves find a crevice in the rocks814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9F4cOXn9P
and the old man goes still on the soggy ground.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ZzzhVcmIl
The boy watches silently as the other man walks away without another look.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ92NimtGkEk
The old man stirs, a ragged breath that pains the boy to hear.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DgNZ6Lm1b
He edges up towards the cottage814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOiRuJmPhK
crimson soaking between the cracks in the rock walkway.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgM1W3IWjYJ
The boys leaves bare footprints in blood that isn’t his own.
Crouching by the man, he grips his hand till it goes limp.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7yE4JcprkM
The boy doesn’t know why he needed to do it.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwEcOewZE0r
His couldn’t imagine not.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJHb4gGYZ8
One last look at the ruin of the world814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgxLGHX30Q
and the boy makes his choice.
He rips the cloth star from the man’s sweater814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4WGuLV8Gc4
and returns to the sea.
