A Boy Named Elijah

"No...." A soft huff came from the mouth of a boy, his body covered in a blanket of snow, his breath frozen and his vision giving way. He tried to move, though his leg was broken, lying limp behind him.

"I don't want to die here!" he cried out, voice echoing throughout the lands but falling on deaf ears. He tried to get up, his hands clawing into the snow that supported him. The boy was weak, his arms shaking.

'It hurts to breathe… it hurts to move, my leg,' he thought, giving one final push against the earth, standing on his legs despite the pain. He dragged his foot across the snowy landscape. The wind lashed against him, blowing through his black hair tainted in white. His breath hitched at the biting cold, but he pressed forward.

He limped on and on. The journey seemed as though it held no end, with refuge far beyond the horizon.

"I don't want to die..." he repeated between gritted teeth, his eyes welling up with tears. "I don't want to die... I don't want to die." The tears ran down his face as he pleaded for luck and forgiveness, his body collapsing into the snow once more.

"Father, please... save me." His eyes closed as the cold finally whisked him away, memories flooding in and his life flashing before his eyes.

"Elijah! Get down from there!" a man cried out to the top of his roof. There sat a young boy, no older than ten, with a wide grin on his face, his eyes set out to sea. He watched as the waves tossed and turned from his small island, lashing onto the beach's surface, feeling the wind blow through his black hair and letting his shirt flutter in the wind.

"Elijah! I won't say it again!" Though his words fell on deaf ears, Elijah's eyes widened in excitement as he spotted it.

"Dad, look!" he screamed, his hands outstretched to the sea. His father turned and saw a ship sailing to port, a soft smile spreading across his face as he realized what it was.

"A real honest-to-goodness pirate ship! Hahaha!" Elijah jumped for joy, his foot slipping on one of the tiles as he came barreling down to the ground. His father screamed in panic, catching his son just before he hit the ground. A soft sigh escaped his lips.

"Sorry..." said the young boy, noticing his father's scowl.

"You never listen to a damned word I say, do ya?" his father sighed, letting the boy down gently, only to receive a blow to the back of his head.

"Ouch!" Elijah yelped, turning to see who it was. His gaze set on his mother, a beautiful woman in her thirties with long black hair like a flowing river without end, and brown eyes like polished copper under the gaze of fresh moonlight. The clothing of a peasant yet still elegantly covers her frame.

"It's all because you and Gerald keep tellin' him those pirate stories!" she declared, poking the man in his chest repeatedly, hoping he'd get the message. "Elijah was always a rowdy kid, and you had to go feeding him nonsense!"

Elijah looked out to sea, seeing the ship had already disappeared from view. 'It must have docked already…,' he murmured to himself, a hopeful smile spreading across his face as he darted off to find it, unbeknownst to his parents.

"How was I supposed to know he'd be this interested? Besides, Elijah's a good kid; he wouldn't be making any trouble for us," his father declared, not aware that his son had already left.

"Isn't that right, Elijah?" He smiled at his son, his heart sank when he realized he wasn't there.

Elijah darted towards the docks, panting rapidly as he stared towards the sea, his heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.

 "There it is!" He smiled a smile so bright it was almost blinding, the hopeful gleam of a child as he spotted the ship at the docks. An emerald green lined the bottom, covered in algae and shells from their adventure as the waves lashed against the base. A sail with the skull, its blue hue mimicking the vast sea that stretched out behind them, waiting to be explored by any adventurer, waiting to be explored by Elijah.

"Be careful with those, ya hear!?" A man who stood tall amongst the crew members demanded, he carried a stupid smile, his black beard almost mistaken for midnight blue, covering half his face, it was cartoonishly big. 

He carried a bear bottle in one hand and a flintlock, its golden hue on the barrel shining in the sun, his movements jolly yet there was this feeling about him, certainly not a man you want to cross.

"Yes, captain Vagnus!" They all shouted in unison, the captain letting out a joyous roar, taking another swig of his beer, a deepsea red that jostled and stirred in the glass before setting out with his crew. 

Elijah looked up to the ship, curiosity getting the better of him as he ventured aboard.

When his feet came into contact with the ship's floor it was as if an electric current shot through him, his eyes shined in wonder and awe. 

"Hoist the sails!" He shouted, his wrists pointed out to sea, pretending to hold a sword as he stood by the helm, his feet hoisted on the wooden rails and his hair peeking out of a rag he tied to his head.

The seagulls watched on as he played pretend, their heads tilted in confusion as to what the boy could be doing. 

"Turn starboard we're heading ho—" His orders were interrupted by a gust of wind, the rag he had on his head flying off, whisking away in the gentle breeze.

"Oh no! We're under attack!" He shouted, scurrying off to grab his rag, which flew over the quarterdeck, he climbed onto the rail, pushing off with all his might to reach for the rag.

The boy was air-born, his fingers grazing the fabric as it fluttered away, soon reaching into his grasp regardless.

"I got it!" he shouted victoriously, falling to the ground in a loud thud, the seagulls that remained on the ship flying off at the sound, making their way across the ever-blue sky.

Elijah's mother sat on the couch, her arms crossed and her gaze on the floor, she seemed nervous, worried and concerned crossing her face as she tapped against her arm repeatedly, over and over without end.

"Where is he…" She muttered, hearing someone knocking from the living room, she raised her head to see who it may be, quickly getting up and rushing towards the door.

"I'll be right there!" She shouted, her hand resting on the knob as she thought to herself. 'Please be Elijah…'

The door opened, revealing the captain, and a young boy nestled in his arms, he was unconscious and his wrist was swollen. 

 "Am sorry to bother yer, but is this kiddo here yers?" He looked towards Elijah's mom, her hands covering her face as she teared up.

"My poor boy," she muttered to herself.

"He fell and sprained his arm on my ship, I asked around and they led me to this house so…" His gaze shifted to the floor, and a feeling of guilt riddled him.

She took her son from the captain's hands, looking up towards him with tears forming in her eyes. "Thank you.....thank you.....so much."

"Yer have no need to thank me," He tried to play it down, but she wouldn't let him, shaking her head aggressively, insisting on his visit.

"You should stay for tea, as thanks," His mom pleaded, crying out tot he pirate as he stopped to her words, a bit of hesitancy in his posture before nodding with a soft smile, his gruff voice lowered as he muttered.

"How could I possibly turn that offer down." He smiled, walking inside the house. "Do yer have any ale?"

Hours had passed, and the young lad finally opened his eyes, surprised to see the captain and his parents sitting in the room and laughing about stories and tales of their adventure, he stayed, laid on the couch as he watched everyone have a merry time at the kitchen table.

"And there I was," The captain lifted his glass to the roof, some of it running down the glass, his eyes looked up fondly, remembering the moment like it was merely yesterday. 

"Passin' by the waters, and out of now where a beast emerged from the depths!" 

"With Eolus by my side, I reached for my blade! The monster starin' deep in me soul!" He roars out sloshing and spilling his booze everywhere lost in the moment of the past still smelling the fresh salt water. 

Both Elijah's father and mother looked mesmerized by the tale the captain was weaving, the beer jostled in the clear glass, much like the waves of that night.

"And just like that! The wind picked up with a vengeance, my crew could hardly stand much less fight! But I stood my ground, charging towards the serpentine creature!" He got up from his seat, his foot planted firm in the wooden chair.

"Me blade tore its flesh yet it remained standing, tossin' and turnin' the waves, causin' me to lose me balance on the ship, ya hear?!"

"In me moment of confusion, the beast lunged forward to my ship, and then, and then!" He raises his glass building suspense for what is about to happen. 

Elijah rose from his bedding, excitement laced within his eyes despite his injuries.

"And then?!" He shouted, his voice catching everyone off guard. They all looked at him, a soft laugh erupting from his mother.

"What happened next?! I've got to know!" he demanded to hear, the captain letting off a soft smile and continuing his tale.

"Then I blocked the beast's attack with me sword! Cutting him straight down the middle! Tossin' him back in the sea!" He took a big drink from his glass, leaving the boy absolutely mesmerized, though his parents looked at each other in disbelief. 

"Can I hear another?!" The young boy pondered.

"Of course ma boy, I have plenty of tales to share!"

Tales were told and inspiration was brought, his stories igniting the flames of his adventure once more, he remembers them all fondly a grin on his face all the while till it was time to depart.

"Do you really have to go?" Elijah whined, grabbing onto the shirt of the pirate.

"Of course, I do, laddie," he responded, kneeling before the young boy, "I may have plenty of stories already, but the sea calls me name, ya hear?" 

Elijah puts his hand to his ears, trying to listen out to the sea, "I don't hear anything…"

"Not literally," He laughed getting up from the ground and tipping his captain's hat to him and the misses. 

"I'll be off then," He turned to Elijah, a confident grin on his face. "I'll see you out in the sea one day, and you can tell me your stories, beyond the Elderpass, ya hear?"

"Yes captain!" the young lad shouted, confidence filling his words as he watched the captain make his leave. The smell of the sea has never been so strong, the blowing winds, the call of seagulls all flying across the waters, it all feels as though… it all feels…

"Like the sea is calling, for me too…." Elijah stood there, watching as the ship would depart from the port, grinning from ear to ear.

"You don't think he was serious about that story, right? Monsters? Stopping it with just your hand and sword? That's not possible," He overheard is mom say, her hand on her cheek, a bit worried to the world her son was being exposed to.

"It's probably something he made up for the kids he passed by, no need to worry dear." His father reassured giving off a soft smile as he watched the captain leave.

Though, even as their words deny the stories he had heard, he still believes them, even as the years go by.

"Ah! Another ship!" He would cry out, looking out to sea once more on the roof of his father's house six years later. His grin never faded and his spirit never wavered, jumping off of the roof and landing on his feet.

"Dad! I'm going to look at the pirates!" He shouted inside.

"Okay, just don't get too close, not all pirates are good!" His father shouted back to him, wishing for his safety.

"I know!" The young boy sets off to the docks again, his eyes wide and hopeful for adventure.