Mist dusted the glassy surface of the water.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ynEa6DKmR
Dawn, placid and cool with early spring,772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1X82MOgGK4
the boy dipped the top of his head into the air.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wPYAWD0cw
Gaze dark as jet scanned the shoreline772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VuExNtO45
where homes sprouted moss beyond the sandy ribbon of beach.
A gull chopped a warbled caw,772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY0k5ZCuWkk
Dipped then spun onto the brine.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCzXRX50NO7
The seals had left him, preferring the safety of the jagged stones.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ1d3qOnwb6
Cagily as a crab at low tide, he paddled with pale arms772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPB3sd7kSgA
towards the land.
The boy had once had a human name772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJnSTKOReR
one his tongue had never learned to say772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE9gnfW5giO
but that his mother had never forgotten.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCJoDxzSav
The seals had called him their own772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfvrfFh5Mc
as long as he could remember.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2z5cG8dxqZ
772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprPOWcXH3p
All was silent, as it hadn’t been in months.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidn2B4GPHK
Not since the giant, creaking monsters like iron land whales772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvYDAliHaNP
could be spotted amid a garden of smoke and noise.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8pxAFgTizH
Noise that filled his lungs like salt,772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQalwrs4uFn
the boy was terrified by the chaos and yet drawn to it772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeIVWksYjCm
as his humanity drove him towards the danger.
The seals did not argue. Nor did the gulls.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcr8HMY7wPj
Fourteen years were enough to teach him what they could772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVGY7JqZOn
and now it was his choice to make.
Naked with wrinkled toes and fingers,772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48w03yxYzi
Cold dripping from his black curls,772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvcE9PdorOQ
the boy made landfall and crawled onto the shore.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qEk5UC4TH
Legs like a newborn lamb, he stumbled up towards the village.
There was a white washed cottage with a row of sea roses,772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCuallL87G
frothy smoke trailing up from the chimney in the thatch roof.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZE49bWdghx
The boy paused at an eruption of voices within.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKv04COWCU4
He hid and watched.
A man with tall, shining boots of black772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0PihwEq967
buttons like bright shells down his barreled chest772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGqkDciDvM
Gripped the arm of an old man,772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvRa9YYkQSx
bent and craggy as rocks pockmarked by barnacles772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpXz9S0dVTX
slathered in seaweed.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9yVAmldll
772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbJ2dp9gfu
On the old man’s chest, a strange symbol,772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1z1KOxIUvq
a starfish in tide pools but bright yellow.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03nQbolbSd
Cut roughly and sewn onto his sweater772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeLVZBaHs1k
like the brands the boy had watched farmers give their cattle772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojsVsFWqt1
on fields lining the grey ocean.
The boy had seen before what the man in his boots and buttons held.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡimlK3FzAho
When the noise had begun on the shores,772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgCvZJ65J4
he had seen them used before on other men772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuqxNOMW4Rc
a horrible bang and so much gore,772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ48PtPDFKr
leaving drifting tendrils of smoky red in the water.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5lzxFLa9Ob
772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7gIznhBvmu
A sharp pop, like when the strong waves find a crevice in the rocks772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEwgHrv4sah
and the old man goes still on the soggy ground.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHVwotp6qMu
The boy watches silently as the other man walks away without another look.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOaJlb1IZL
The old man stirs, a ragged breath that pains the boy to hear.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWfsLz4dHKQ
He edges up towards the cottage772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLOhlvAcAJ
crimson soaking between the cracks in the rock walkway.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2pdEiBWbl
The boys leaves bare footprints in blood that isn’t his own.
Crouching by the man, he grips his hand till it goes limp.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNiykOxOO2q
The boy doesn’t know why he needed to do it.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXwfPzHjOsN
His couldn’t imagine not.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX49M7VQRMI
One last look at the ruin of the world772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfugCvxI1Yj
and the boy makes his choice.
He rips the cloth star from the man’s sweater772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShoYV0DaKf
and returns to the sea.
