Mist dusted the glassy surface of the water.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkakZAINwS
Dawn, placid and cool with early spring,724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWEAZFXx4T
the boy dipped the top of his head into the air.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFv1FkWXJA
Gaze dark as jet scanned the shoreline724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMuha2RvPfI
where homes sprouted moss beyond the sandy ribbon of beach.
A gull chopped a warbled caw,724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡErhfA2xSiP
Dipped then spun onto the brine.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPgzXcqleZ
The seals had left him, preferring the safety of the jagged stones.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl42hOuUwQX
Cagily as a crab at low tide, he paddled with pale arms724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHsDNO952z
towards the land.
The boy had once had a human name724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡETovkXnpCR
one his tongue had never learned to say724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyThzN3BQno
but that his mother had never forgotten.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0YE2xHV48
The seals had called him their own724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RmkZMsTJS
as long as he could remember.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmFJ2hamsLI
724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNsGCaK0iMx
All was silent, as it hadn’t been in months.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0BBYhOxL5
Not since the giant, creaking monsters like iron land whales724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERKjLRk7g7
could be spotted amid a garden of smoke and noise.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9u0AAJ2NT
Noise that filled his lungs like salt,724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbyyGw4B76
the boy was terrified by the chaos and yet drawn to it724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7IBRW9mNv
as his humanity drove him towards the danger.
The seals did not argue. Nor did the gulls.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWS9TpVwICj
Fourteen years were enough to teach him what they could724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NC22NSg4T
and now it was his choice to make.
Naked with wrinkled toes and fingers,724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBw0N7moXN1
Cold dripping from his black curls,724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpmyIKEG6bA
the boy made landfall and crawled onto the shore.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4X2snsK2e
Legs like a newborn lamb, he stumbled up towards the village.
There was a white washed cottage with a row of sea roses,724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4eMtVsGEl
frothy smoke trailing up from the chimney in the thatch roof.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBX9ixhTkdC
The boy paused at an eruption of voices within.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO929d8V9Fu
He hid and watched.
A man with tall, shining boots of black724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPt51ZaATKN
buttons like bright shells down his barreled chest724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlT9Hg2Er3e
Gripped the arm of an old man,724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqlabwYBfbC
bent and craggy as rocks pockmarked by barnacles724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo1NDXpmQcG
slathered in seaweed.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpXqyuQVDh3
724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBF6oEzLCtN
On the old man’s chest, a strange symbol,724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHmQhnAGi0
a starfish in tide pools but bright yellow.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9lX4MYMiO
Cut roughly and sewn onto his sweater724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGwIJPm45l
like the brands the boy had watched farmers give their cattle724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDSKesaIFy
on fields lining the grey ocean.
The boy had seen before what the man in his boots and buttons held.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPpSG1I8oYu
When the noise had begun on the shores,724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2nwgh6j1Mf
he had seen them used before on other men724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFvyU3aw4G
a horrible bang and so much gore,724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtBxlTvVXQM
leaving drifting tendrils of smoky red in the water.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaGIwpFS2xN
724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3KJUA30Lo
A sharp pop, like when the strong waves find a crevice in the rocks724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8dZSrvy1b
and the old man goes still on the soggy ground.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkO2aftt2Xf
The boy watches silently as the other man walks away without another look.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbOs5c88k3
The old man stirs, a ragged breath that pains the boy to hear.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMS2Eh8vAlx
He edges up towards the cottage724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK4RarNJ5iB
crimson soaking between the cracks in the rock walkway.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKD6p2eBN5
The boys leaves bare footprints in blood that isn’t his own.
Crouching by the man, he grips his hand till it goes limp.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdG9iKSoRw
The boy doesn’t know why he needed to do it.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvUGMkncCN
His couldn’t imagine not.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEd7yqFdERs
One last look at the ruin of the world724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLqB0HBYCa
and the boy makes his choice.
He rips the cloth star from the man’s sweater724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNSVmCx4mz
and returns to the sea.
