Mist dusted the glassy surface of the water.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡid7g2OVLyF
Dawn, placid and cool with early spring,774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYto4thmuEb
the boy dipped the top of his head into the air.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPwQvoO6Gnk
Gaze dark as jet scanned the shoreline774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhZrmJvgJF
where homes sprouted moss beyond the sandy ribbon of beach.
A gull chopped a warbled caw,774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54RHI6jeUM
Dipped then spun onto the brine.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9HQTJb4Me4
The seals had left him, preferring the safety of the jagged stones.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvpxvgxXyGM
Cagily as a crab at low tide, he paddled with pale arms774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGSqwyViizm
towards the land.
The boy had once had a human name774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu54Yjmq87M
one his tongue had never learned to say774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC80nhbxZrE
but that his mother had never forgotten.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QuMMcF1h4
The seals had called him their own774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fF3GvDSU7
as long as he could remember.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQqy8qapFg
774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7MwArBlILa
All was silent, as it hadn’t been in months.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQIMb6y9xUn
Not since the giant, creaking monsters like iron land whales774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrOgT6wJeXj
could be spotted amid a garden of smoke and noise.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAuCdr02Vr
Noise that filled his lungs like salt,774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCnMdQxNQJ
the boy was terrified by the chaos and yet drawn to it774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4QgHB2tAf
as his humanity drove him towards the danger.
The seals did not argue. Nor did the gulls.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0PbLxnz955
Fourteen years were enough to teach him what they could774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCeTHbSa0jG
and now it was his choice to make.
Naked with wrinkled toes and fingers,774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAy6vz1cHWJ
Cold dripping from his black curls,774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QRzv0RKQi
the boy made landfall and crawled onto the shore.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42dqrE2BzE
Legs like a newborn lamb, he stumbled up towards the village.
There was a white washed cottage with a row of sea roses,774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDThMEZ3oRu
frothy smoke trailing up from the chimney in the thatch roof.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81gT1FxlLi
The boy paused at an eruption of voices within.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffbpGThkPn
He hid and watched.
A man with tall, shining boots of black774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt9c1miGP6U
buttons like bright shells down his barreled chest774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDK1YtVE7qz
Gripped the arm of an old man,774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBBXE6f4In
bent and craggy as rocks pockmarked by barnacles774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLgrDzdSWM
slathered in seaweed.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS1FHVdclkQ
774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb79GNj3yit
On the old man’s chest, a strange symbol,774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwI5RbzuHA
a starfish in tide pools but bright yellow.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW9fH2poLev
Cut roughly and sewn onto his sweater774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJDk4oZL5e
like the brands the boy had watched farmers give their cattle774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsIzcwaYS1L
on fields lining the grey ocean.
The boy had seen before what the man in his boots and buttons held.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5rLivapi7
When the noise had begun on the shores,774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIJzdpkI3t
he had seen them used before on other men774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ91wLp9fG10
a horrible bang and so much gore,774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WcEHOL1DU
leaving drifting tendrils of smoky red in the water.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2CDZOvlpxD
774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRKUabFUOJt
A sharp pop, like when the strong waves find a crevice in the rocks774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMctduJoJV
and the old man goes still on the soggy ground.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGy2LmXxb3
The boy watches silently as the other man walks away without another look.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm319tga6qM
The old man stirs, a ragged breath that pains the boy to hear.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMiTdhqLPli
He edges up towards the cottage774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgj2BhyrCcl
crimson soaking between the cracks in the rock walkway.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNCKZAeGt1U
The boys leaves bare footprints in blood that isn’t his own.
Crouching by the man, he grips his hand till it goes limp.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpkSzwL1aB4
The boy doesn’t know why he needed to do it.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ruHrC34F4
His couldn’t imagine not.774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8V6ITjWhmh
One last look at the ruin of the world774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRBvFWveLx
and the boy makes his choice.
He rips the cloth star from the man’s sweater774Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIT6pT2pmWO
and returns to the sea.
