25

The suns set behind the horizon and the moon rose on her way back home in the sky. The stars reflected off the sea that stretched as far as your eye could see as the light faded away from the setting sun. The waves gently bumped against the sand on the shoreline while small boats bobbed along, fishing up the catch of the day."Papa, you should take me fishing this year." A young child pleaded with the man who stood in front of him looking out across the water.The father shook his head, "No, I can't take you right now and there is no fish in these waters that we need.""Please Papa, I want to go!" The little boy cried in frustration as his father looked at him sadly, trying his best to stay strong."No, it's not safe enough, not just yet. You may one day, but for now you must live here, where it is peaceful and quiet." His father replied firmly, patting the boy's shoulder comfortingly.After spending another few hours in the town the boy walked down to a nearby tavern to try and get his mind off the situation. He was hoping for something sweet, or at least some wine to help relax his nerves.The barkeep was busy serving some other patrons, so he ordered the biggest glass they had in stock and a mug. It tasted foul, even worse than it did earlier that afternoon. He put it down on the counter after finishing his second beer, hoping for something stronger.He turned around expecting the barkeeper to be there, and was surprised to see someone else standing behind him instead."Who are you?" The young boy said angrily."My name is Pedro Henrique.""So why did you come to my house last night when I wasn't home? Who gave you permission to come into my home?" Pedro's anger grew when he realized that this person was his friend, the same friend he had spent many hours playing chess with. "And what are you doing here?"The stranger took a moment before answering, and then finally answered, "I am here because your mother was killed in an accident several years ago and you still haven't been able to accept what happened. You refuse to move past it so I thought that maybe if I was with you tonight we could clear it up together, maybe you will feel better after talking about it."The young boy's face contorted at how stupid he sounded. Why would he be willing to talk to this stranger who obviously knew nothing about him? How could anyone know anything about him? "You're wrong, you don' know what happened! You don' understand! She's my mom, she loved me!"Pedro yelled angrily, causing people around them to look over curiously. The barkeep approached the two of them after seeing the commotion and placed a hand on Pedro's shoulder soothingly. Pedro looked up at the bartender before turning back to the stranger, ready to continue shouting until the stranger left."Well, maybe you don't understand, that's alright though. Maybe you'll figure things out by yourself," The stranger said sadly before leaving the tavern."What do you mean, I won't figure it out by myself!? What is so different about you that I wouldn't figure it out? I'm going to figure it out by myself, so go back to your stupid island!" Pedro shouted as loudly as he could but his voice was drowned out by the loud clink of glasses breaking as the barkeeper grabbed Pedro and shoved him back against the wall."Don' call me an idiot again," Pedro spat defiantly, refusing to be bullied like this. After all the humiliation he had experienced on that island, this stranger coming here to make everything worse seemed to be the absolute worst idea ever. 'I shouldn't have listened to him, I shouldn't have trusted that guy, it only made everything worse.''Then why don't you just leave?" Pedro' eyes widened with fear. The stranger's words seemed too genuine. It couldn't really be true…"I didn't say that. If you think you can just walk out the door, then fine. But when I say we'll figure it out together, I mean it. No matter how hard it will be to accept it, we have to at least try."I'm sorry, what?" Pedro said, confused."If I were you I'd run away as fast as you possibly can," The stranger smirked and pushed Pedro to the ground, running off quickly and leaving Pedro alone on the beach."What the hell was that?!" Pedro growled in disbelief as he picked himself up off the ground, rubbing his wrist which stung in pain.He walked back to his home as fast as he could in an attempt to get away from the strange man, but he knew that it was pointless. The strange man would find him eventually.It was already dark out, Pedro decided to stay inside and wait until the morning for a better time to leave.When he woke in the morning, Pedro had forgotten all about the events of last night. As soon as he opened his eyes he knew exactly where he was. He had stayed in the same bed every single night since he arrived on the island. This room was his very own room and there weren't any other rooms anywhere in the village. He got dressed slowly, still half asleep, and went outside to explore. He had never left his home before, not even when he traveled to the town on occasion, so he wondered what his parents were doing back at home. When he returned after a few hours of wandering, his parents were sitting at the table drinking tea with food on the plates in front of them. They looked so happy that their son had returned home safely."Good morning Son," His mother said cheerfully, smiling wide at her son."Are you hungry, we made your favorite breakfast," He father said happily, pushing a plate toward Pedro."Of course I am!" Pedro exclaimed enthusiastically, grabbing the spoon from his plate eagerly. They ate together, chatting excitedly about the trip Pedro had taken, and how they were glad to see that he was home safely. He didn't notice, nor did his father, that his mother's smile slowly disappeared as he spoke about the mysterious stranger that had come to his home.Chapter 2Pedro sat up with a start. He was dreaming. Of course. He knew what dreams meant, but somehow it always felt so real. That was the problem. Dreams were supposed to be false images, but they came true almost every time he dreamed. That had become his daily routine now. There was no telling when the dreams would end or whether they would be realistic. Pedro sat up and sighed heavily. He knew he needed to get up, go outside, train, do whatever it was that he normally did during the day. However, he couldn't bring himself to move. Instead he curled up tightly in his blanket and closed his eyes, trying desperately to fall asleep again, but it was futile. He was exhausted and needed rest to heal. Eventually his body gave up and he fell back asleep once more, unaware that his family had woken up and was watching him sleep from behind the bedroom door."Son, wake up. It's getting late, you should start packing your things" Pedro's father whispered from behind the door quietly."Okay Dad," Pedro mumbled, rolling over onto his side. He tried to close his eyes again, but the thoughts swirling around in his mind wouldn't allow him to rest peacefully. The dream continued playing over and over again in his head, haunting him and giving him nightmares. He didn't know if the other boy who visited him was real or just another trick to make Pedro believe that life could actually be okay.

When Pedro awoke the next morning, he was startled to hear voices outside his door. He sat bolt upright instantly, immediately regretting it as his headache returned full force, causing him to flinch slightly.He rubbed his temple, making sure to not touch anything as he got up and went towards the door."I'll let you both in. Just don't break anything," Pedro called out, stepping back and opening the door.His father and brother entered first, both of them carrying heavy bags filled with various items that they wanted to take with them.They saw Pedro waiting patiently for them in the hallway, so he hurriedly led them downstairs to the kitchen where he was preparing breakfast for himself and them, knowing that his father would be upset if he found out that Pedro hadn't done that for himself.He put two bowls of steaming porridge on the table and brought both of their cups of coffee along with them."We need to hurry, we have three days before we leave," Antonio told Pedro as he began eating immediately. Pedro followed suit and ate as quick as he could to stop Antonio from complaining.After they had finished their meal, they helped Pedro with getting packed and saying goodbye, each one trying to give Pedro as much love as possible."We'll miss you Pedro," Antonio said solemnly, hugging Pedro tightly. Pedro nodded his head as well while wiping tears away from his eyes. He was starting to feel like crying a lot recently; he had cried too often recently."Me too! Don't forget to write to us every week! We'll send you letters as often as we can," Antonio added. Pedro managed a small nod as he hugged his father tighter.After Pedro had packed all the important things into the bags, they left his house, wishing Pedro good luck with all their hearts.He turned around and waved to his brothers as they rode away.He watched them disappear out of sight, hoping that he would be able to see his brothers again someday and then headed back inside of the cottage.He decided to go out today, to get rid of his negative energy and try to forget about it.He started walking down the road in search of something else to do that might help him forget about what happened the previous evening, and soon found himself standing next to a large pond.He was fascinated by it, so he stopped and stared at its peaceful appearance, allowing his gaze to drift to the sky above it. He was completely oblivious to the fact that someone was staring at him from the shadows."You seem to be looking for something to occupy your mind. I suggest heading towards the village. You should be able to find something that interests you,"