just another brick in the wall ~ open

When winter's bittersweet morning air crept softly on the naked boy's skin, the child already awake and lying quietly on his woolly covers, thoughts of the ocean came to his mind. Being a fisherman's son, fishing was always one of his priorities. With his father missing, his determined desire to witness the man's return along the horizon always drew him to the ocean. School was the least of his worries, as unlike other boys in town, he didn't go to a regular school. His father taught him everything that he felt a growing boy would need to know, and his mother taught him basic things that would be necessary in life, such as math and literary arts, including reading and writing. Nonetheless, he was smart.

When he tried to make it to the reaping, and hoped that he would be picked, his plans for that particular day necessarily changed. His mother had fallen ill and, because of his love and devotion for her, he stayed behind against her wishes for him. The boy knew somehow in his heart he wouldn't be selected for this season, so he was confident understanding that he didn't miss out on much. Had he even been there when it happened, and he was to be chosen, he would have hoped that someone would volunteer. His mother was more important to him than making any amount of money, even when she wasn't dying. When his mother was diagnosed with a dreadful cold, the boy was happy.

Finally, the child stirred as another breeze decided to awkwardly settle on his bare backside. He picked up his loose denim shorts as he knelt up, looking for his father's shirt that he had started to possess as his own. It still had his scent in it, despite the constant washing that it had gone through in the past few years. As he slipped his shorts on, he spotted it lying over the edge of his bed. Quickly he tossed it over his head and let it fall on his shoulders before he tucked his arms through the sleeves. Usually, he wore a wife-beater, but today was a special day. It was special in the sense that he needed to find work and earn money.

Despite it being the midst of winter, it was slightly warm throughout the day. When he approached his friend's store to ask about the dinghy, he saw that the young man was quite preoccupied with something, and not wanting to disturb him, decided to take matters into his own hands. After scribbling a note, in what he could only guess as the people's common language, to let Panama know where the little boat would be, and sticking it to the end of the pier where his boat was, he carefully placed his fishing gear into the dinghy and stepped in after untying its rope from the dock. Pushing away from the pier, he set the dinghy in the direction of the lake near his house.

Even though the boy felt some shame in taking someone's boat without asking, and he knew that he would offer to pay for the inconvenience upon returning, the boy was finally happy. It had been a while since he went fishing. As he took a deep breath and took in the sweet aroma of the morning air floating over still waters, he relaxed and a soft smile grew on his angelic face. Carefully, he adjusted his fishing gear, placing the large bucket directly in the middle of the dinghy and shifting himself into a comfortable position, he began to heavily fish for the remainder of the day. As the hours went by and the sun began to settle, the boy started to make his return.

It was important for him to get to the local store before they would close. His intention was to sell the twenty some fish he caught, while keeping a large one to have for dinner with his mother tonight. However, along the way back to the dock, he spotted something near the beach. At first, from the distance between him and said object, he thought it was a drifting log. However, concern grew as he drew closer and began to make the discovery that it was actually a woman who appeared to be unconscious. Without thinking, the boy immediately stood up taking his shirt off and letting his loose shorts fall to his ankles before diving into the water, firmly determined to rescue the woman.

The bitter cold water stung his bare body as he struggled to efficiently swim after her, his teeth chattering with the sound of a dancing skeleton. Never had he turned down the opportunity to save someone's life, not for himself nor for glory. Life was precious and people needed to understand that. If the woman meant to kill herself, then surely he would slap the woman until she regained her senses. Then again, he was a gentlemanly boy, someone who would never harm a woman in his entire life, no matter how stubborn or hurtful they could get. Finally, he reached her, and with her in tow, swam back to his dinghy. He climbed into the boat first, then turned to pull the woman in.

As strong as he was, evident from his body's appearance, he wasn't very well-versed in his actions. For one, he was wet and unable to keep a firm grip on the woman who was also wet. Another thing was that he was cold to the core, so he kept shivering. Had he kept his clothes on, he would have been colder. He could have pulled her to the beach, but the dinghy was closer, and because it wasn't his, it was important to keep up with it. After pulling her in his boat, he collapsed on his seat, breathing heavily. He grabbed his shirt, tried to dry himself off, then put it on. Still, he shivered like a leaf. He asked, “Si va bene, signora?”

|| tag: irene waters || word count: 1000