Mist dusted the glassy surface of the water.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtegLDUGIHN
Dawn, placid and cool with early spring,777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3uPU3TMrAE
the boy dipped the top of his head into the air.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSBme2R1Pt7
Gaze dark as jet scanned the shoreline777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwvcbB8Gsu7
where homes sprouted moss beyond the sandy ribbon of beach.
A gull chopped a warbled caw,777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ38PNC7hj2m
Dipped then spun onto the brine.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeW7ZuSq3fc
The seals had left him, preferring the safety of the jagged stones.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMZ8j5x1gS
Cagily as a crab at low tide, he paddled with pale arms777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6Yxfrnrrf
towards the land.
The boy had once had a human name777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHCQmdqf3n
one his tongue had never learned to say777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRc1fMmDeSE
but that his mother had never forgotten.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ2jCXme7CP
The seals had called him their own777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWFKXenLoq
as long as he could remember.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbGxYCEN4n
777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fHBd3Ml3R
All was silent, as it hadn’t been in months.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡumI1RVcXq1
Not since the giant, creaking monsters like iron land whales777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPlqAhz3Ly1
could be spotted amid a garden of smoke and noise.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFRInb5J56S
Noise that filled his lungs like salt,777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnKfR9WT1s
the boy was terrified by the chaos and yet drawn to it777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxa6UILpHe
as his humanity drove him towards the danger.
The seals did not argue. Nor did the gulls.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9vFWvFbZj3
Fourteen years were enough to teach him what they could777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡomRxxwM0uc
and now it was his choice to make.
Naked with wrinkled toes and fingers,777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqFj7SrUaV
Cold dripping from his black curls,777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ29ejPbbIQ
the boy made landfall and crawled onto the shore.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXa7aZOkNKV
Legs like a newborn lamb, he stumbled up towards the village.
There was a white washed cottage with a row of sea roses,777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrimbm7mSw1
frothy smoke trailing up from the chimney in the thatch roof.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIY2YSKQcb
The boy paused at an eruption of voices within.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSNS5XWAIm
He hid and watched.
A man with tall, shining boots of black777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSDMd3O0WP5
buttons like bright shells down his barreled chest777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDYhCFDEDP
Gripped the arm of an old man,777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIY5A0Ovhjr
bent and craggy as rocks pockmarked by barnacles777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkm7Fzxz6q
slathered in seaweed.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwGTrC9NiW
777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8lM4N9usD
On the old man’s chest, a strange symbol,777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOghclz0Wxe
a starfish in tide pools but bright yellow.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgc0mFIPplB
Cut roughly and sewn onto his sweater777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu3SWmhDEav
like the brands the boy had watched farmers give their cattle777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjFzQ8cjpk
on fields lining the grey ocean.
The boy had seen before what the man in his boots and buttons held.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJdTitG2ZX4
When the noise had begun on the shores,777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWQDOgUtvl
he had seen them used before on other men777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAKsUX7gJp
a horrible bang and so much gore,777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKzWfjo5KG
leaving drifting tendrils of smoky red in the water.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpM1xsMz2vE
777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKNP4oyuGd
A sharp pop, like when the strong waves find a crevice in the rocks777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKCKCIcSNl
and the old man goes still on the soggy ground.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmcyUnYBtgf
The boy watches silently as the other man walks away without another look.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4c2Odcnr5
The old man stirs, a ragged breath that pains the boy to hear.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRd4Q8MJUS4
He edges up towards the cottage777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYMdcEgnXM
crimson soaking between the cracks in the rock walkway.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW44mpjW5ju
The boys leaves bare footprints in blood that isn’t his own.
Crouching by the man, he grips his hand till it goes limp.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRfX5i3uEi
The boy doesn’t know why he needed to do it.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1oR3THTtin
His couldn’t imagine not.777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0b2F1IrTO
One last look at the ruin of the world777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2zIzdY2LW
and the boy makes his choice.
He rips the cloth star from the man’s sweater777Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgs1pqPhuqZ
and returns to the sea.
