1 Sea

"Trust can be only obtained once, and when it is gone.. never forgive the one who broke it."

The child obediently followed his mother and covered his eyes throughout their long walk, without uttering a single sound, he never even dared to even peek. Until he felt the cold breeze coming from his front, and her mother told him that he can now open his eyes. He saw her mother crying, he embraced her and didn't notice that they were at the edge of the cliff. She hugged her child tighter as she could and jumped off.

The poor child never knowing what is happening, found himself alive, and behind him was the devastated corpse of her mother that cushioned their fall. He didn't know what happened, he was shocked and still he never uttered a single word, neither mourned for his mother's death. He doesn't know how to respond, the stress and trauma, the shock and bitter sadness.. he felt those emotions but didn't know how to express those.

The corpse smashed from falling was still lying at the rocks and the waves are washing the stains from her skin, 'til the high tide comes and the sea claims the body. The child followed the body, ignoring the waters that is devouring him slowly, he didn't know how to swim but he insisted on following his mother until he got drowned by roaring tides.

-~~~~

"E'y bag of flesh wake up!"

It was a miracle that he survived, he thought as he woke up. He didn't know how, where he is, and who are the people around him but he knows that he was at the sea, for the saltwater is splashing everywhere. He found himself being tied on the corner and an odd looking old man come towards him with a dagger on the right hand.

"Don' ya' know who we are?" asked the old man.

But the child didn't respond. He tried menacing and frightening the child but the outcome was still the same... he didn't respond.

And so the old man, out of anger, pulled the tongue of the child and cuts it, "Fuck ya!!" he exclaimed.

The ship filled with pirates become more boisterous as the sun sets, barrels of beer was brought out from their pantry to celebrate the success of their raid from the nearby village. One of the pirates named Tobias saw what happened earlier and brought some foods to the child who was tied on the corner, he took a pity to him as he knows that the child was very innocent.

"You know.. life was very harsh, especially to us here. And to you." he chugged his beer and looked at the child. "Hic! You can't talk now aren't you?"

In his eyes, the child really looks pathetic and lucky for not being killed by their captain. He looked at the eyes of the boy who was staring at him without any sign of hostility. He found it fascinating and took a liking to the child,

"How old are you?" he asked as he untie the ropes that binds the child's limbs.

"Oh how idiot of me.. sorry I forgot that you weren't able to speak now even if you wanted to." He hold the hands of the child and asked him, "Just tell me your age using your hands now. You know your age aren't you?"

And so the boy finally synchronized with the current situation and responded.

"Oh so you are only five years old. Poor boy!" he said.

He handed out the bread to the child to eat but his conscience took the best of him as he saw blood ebbing from the boy's cutted tongue. The innocent face of the child holds no sadness, nor hostility.. and so he decided that he wanted to take him as his foster son. He took the bread and chewed it so that the child could consume it in his situation, that night Tobias talked to the captain, his father, about his decision of adopting the child. At first his father hesitated, but he observed the child's behaviour for a couple of hours seeing that he was already untied, the child sat on the corner of the ship and stared at the night sky blankly. The captain saw that the child neither has grudge, nor hostility towards them and is plainly accepting his fate... and so, he gave his permission to his son.

On that night, the pirates welcomed a new member of their family, treated the child's wound and bathed him.

"Today's such a lucky day isn't it?" Tobias smiled, "We sold several slaves for a huge sum, raided a nearby village successfully, and then having you here as our new member of the family."

Tobias looked at the child with a bright smiling expression, without knowing the hardships that boy encountered that day. Losing his mother and capability to speak, the boy was griefing inside as he lost the reason to comprehend things. On that coast where they fell, it was a miracle that he survived the incident, and on the waters, it was also a miracle that he was saved from drowning. The child was clueless of what will happen, the stress accumulated on that day was taking toll in his head, it started to hurt and his memory slowly fades.. until his mind became completely blank that he even forgotten who he was.

"It's such a shame that you couldn't speak. I don't even know your name," said Tobias.

The child was still staring blankly at the starry sky, and an idea entered his head, he pointed the the stars and told the child the names of the constellations he knew and the names of some particular stars.

"If you like at that side you can see Altair and on the..." Tobias halted as the child pointed the northernmost star and saw its light on his eye, " So that's it! You punk hahaha!" he laughed. "From now on you are Polaris."

The sea waves calmed at the middle of the night and the two created a bond, a father and a child. For most, losing important things marks the end of the journey, but for them gaining new things is another story.

A simple kindness opens someone's heart, and through that little hope, Polaris' reason to move forward came back. Even though his memories of the past would never came back, he felt that his journey only started at that time.