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Alberto silently glided through the water, hidden under the darkness of a new moon. He slowly approached a small fishing boat that had decided to brave the waters near his island. It seemed like more and more boats have shown up recently, armed to the teeth with those sharp sticks he's seen humans stab fish with. The humans on the boat were staring into the water, almost as if they were looking for something. Usually his dad would tell him to stay away from the humans, especially when they had the pokey sticks but Alberto hadn't seen his dad in a few weeks and you can't stop a curious 12 year old when you're not around, can you?
It wasn't unusual for his dad to disappear for days on end. He'd even been gone for a whole week once, but he'd always return and apologize profusely for being gone so long. And Alberto always forgave him because his dad would always look so scared after he came back, would always clutch him a little tighter that night, would always hug him a little longer than what was strictly necessary.
But his dad had never been gone for this long before and Alberto would be lying if he said he wasn't upset. He remembered how hastily his dad had said goodbye, something about him being old enough to take care of himself, before swimming off, disappearing beneath the waves almost like something bad would happen if he didn't hurry.
If he was gone for much longer, Alberto would have to start putting tallies on the wall so he could make a joke about his dad needing to invest in a calendar so he could keep track of how long he's been gone whenever he came back.
But that's not important. His dad will come home soon enough. Right now he has humans to watch.
There were two men leaning over opposite sides of the boat, pokey sticks gripped tightly like they were prepared to throw it at a moment's notice. Alberto swam behind some nearby rocks to try and listen in on their conversation.
"Are you sure there are even any here? You know how fishermen like to spin tall tales," said the man closest to him. He was shorter and a bit heavier-set than the other man. He looked unsure of himself, like he'd rather be anywhere else than on a tiny boat in the middle of the night.
"Of course I'm sure! With how many stories that have surfaced in such a short amount of time, there's no way it isn't true."
The other man was taller with broad shoulders. His voice was harsher than the smaller man's and held a strange type of determination.
So they were looking for something! Alberto was immediately fascinated by them and moved closer to hear their conversation better, still hiding behind the mossy rocks.
"How do we know we could even kill it! We have no idea how strong it is or that a harpoon would even pierce it's skin! What if it sinks the boat? Or knocks us overboard and eats us? Or-"
"Silenzio, Bruno! Enough of your worrying! I don't need your thoughts in my head. I want that monster's head and I'm gonna do it with or without you!"
Huh. So the nervous guy's name is Bruno. He reminded Alberto a lot of his own thoughts when he got nervous. And that other guy just got him to shut up! Just like that! Alberto wished he could silence the dumb voice in his head that easily.
"Silenzio Bruno, eh?" Alberto murmured to himself as we watched Tall Guy stab at the water in anticipation. Bruno's head shot up at the sound of his whisper, glancing at the rocks Alberto was hiding behind. He quickly ducked under the water, praying that Bruno didn't see him.
Alberto stayed under the water as he watched the boat begin to move towards the rocks. He slowly made his way towards the side of the boat that neither were looking over. He pressed his back into the wood, craning his neck to listen to their chattering.
"I swear I heard something from over here! I saw something splash below the water, it was just here," Bruno's voice held a little more of the weird determination that Tall Guy's voice had. Tall Guy held a lamp over the water as he gazed between the rocks.
What could they possibly be looking for? Alberto almost decided to make himself known and offer to help them in their search. He quickly decided against it as soon as Tall Guy said: "if it is a sea monster, it isn't getting away. I'm gonna kill it and we'll become the richest men on this side of the Riviera! People will come from miles away just to see the two fishermen who finally managed to catch a sea monster! We'll be famous!"
Alberto's stomach sank as he realized why they were here. They weren't looking to catch fish like most people were, they were looking for him. They wanted to kill him and use him as a trophy. He had to get back to the island. What would his dad think if he came back to find his son speared by the very people he told him never to go near? He'd be disappointed for sure.
Just as Alberto was about to swim away, a shadow fell over him and he heard a shout from just above his head.
"Sea monster!"
He looked up to see Tall Guy staring right at him with his harpoon raised over his shoulder, a look of sick satisfaction on his face. Alberto barely had time to dodge to the side before the harpoon stabbed the water where he just was. He quickly ducked under the water and dove as deep as he could.
He saw a harpoon fly by him and swerved away from it just for another one to slice through his upper arm. He let out a terrified shout as his bicep lit up with blinding pain. He stared at it for a second, watching plumes of red leak into the water around him, looking almost black in the darkness.
He grabbed the wound to put pressure on it as a wave of dizziness washed over him, he wasn't sure if it was from the fear or if he lost too much blood. Maybe it was both. He winced as the cut stung at the contact. Another harpoon whizzed by his head and he finally swam away, propelling himself as fast as he could before he got hit again.
Once he made it to the island, he shook himself off and ran to the tower as fast as he could. Climbing the ladder to the top was a challenge, as each time he used his bad arm it sent shockwaves of pain rippling through his whole arm.
He laid on the wooden floor after clawing his way up, feeling light headed. He grabbed a scrap of cloth that he found snagged on some wood at the bottom of the ocean a few months ago. He was glad that he decided to keep it, having finally found a use for it. He looked back down at his arm to see that the whole thing was pretty much covered in the sticky red liquid, a couple drops even falling into the planks of the floor as it dripped off his elbow. He hastily wrapped the cloth around his arm as tight as he could, desperate to stop bleeding. He whimpered at the pain the touching the wound brought.
He stumbled towards the hammock that was strung up by the window, feeling too dizzy to stand. He glanced out the window, seeing the light of the boat still floating on the water. He brought his knees up to his chest as he laid down, shivering in fear. He wished his dad were here to protect him.
Maybe his dad had been gone so long because he knew this would happen. Maybe he knew that his son was just a screw up and couldn't listen to a thing he tried to teach him. Maybe he'd finally give up hope that Alberto could be anything worthwhile.
"S-silenzio Bruno!"
Wow. Somehow he felt a little better. His shoulders relaxed as he realized how stupid his train of thought was, though he didn't stop shaking.
His dad would come back. He knew he would. He always did. He was just taking a little more time than usual.
Alberto held himself a little tighter as he fell asleep, seeking comfort from someone who wasn't there.
Everything would be okay.