He swung his lantern three times on the pier. The lantern glowed brightly, contrasting the strong darkness of the night. The light traveled across the lake, illuminating everything in its path until it shined on a boat coming closer towards the pier. It seemed that the only people on board were a few crew members and the captain who steered the boat closer and closer to shore.

        A man and a boy were standing on the pier, watching and waiting for the boat to arrive. The shops behind them were dark and empty, and they were the only people standing on the pier. The man was talking the boat to another town for the first time.

The man held the lantern high up to see the boat approaching. He wore a dark coat and a hat. He was leaning on the railing, faintly mumbling to himself about the trip that he was about to go on.

The man forcefully held the boy’s arm and stood next to him. The boy, aged around 2 or 3,  seemed oblivious to the man’s deep thought. He stared off into the empty shops behind him and the splashing waves in the water in front of him. The boy seemed to be lost in his own little world. The town that he had lived in his entire life had grown onto him. He knows that he had to leave, but he didn’t want to.

The man lifted his head to see the boat coming closer to the shore and stood up straight when the boat came to a halt. The man and the boy saw the captain getting off the ship and approaching them. The boat was on the opposite end of the pier, so he took quite some time to get to them. His appearance seemed well kept and he brought an attitude of someone who wanted to get straight to the point. He stood tall with pride, but had a stone cold expression plastered on his face. The man started to walk towards the captain. The boy, immersed in his daydream, didn’t realize the man moved until he felt a tug on his arm.

“Captain Tory,” The man addressed the captain once he came close enough.

The captain shook the man’s hand. “It’s been a while,” he replied.

The boy didn’t know many people, and most of the people he knew were only vaguely familiar to him. The captain was included in that group of people in the boy’s eyes. When the boy saw the captain, he remembered his unfeeling attitude and prideful stance, but there was something new about him that the boy didn’t quite remember.

Captain Tory sighed and made a hand motion that signaled them to come with him. The man walked next to the captain, still holding the lantern to light the way. The man followed while .

The three of them walked past all the closed shops to their left and all the splashing waves over to their right. The pier was long, dark, and foggy. While the man was somewhat calm, he showed some slight paranoia and kept shooting nervous glances around the boardwalk,   hoping no one could see him with the boy. Captain Tory stayed serious as they were walking, but a feeling of shame stirred around inside him, and it became more and more prevalent on his face as they were walking. The boy, however, was puzzled as to why everything seemed so serious and grim. He was excited to go on a boat for a while, to enjoy the sounds of the water, and to live in a new town.

The boy looked at all the closed shops, breathed in the salty air from the lake, and heard the waves crashing and splashing against each other. Leaving town was a foreign concept to him.

The boat was almost in their grasp. The crack of dawn hit them, and a streak of sunlight highlighted the boat and the path ahead of them. The man blew out the light on the lantern. Eventually, they reached the boat.

The boy ran ahead from the man’s grasp onto the boat, excited to see everything in the boat. The man started to walk onto the boat, but the captain held him back.

“I can’t let you do this,” said the captain in a low voice, careful not to be heard by anyone except for the man.

“Do what?” said the man, rather aggressively.

“You’re leaving town because you’re afraid for someone to catch you with the kid. If you weren’t dragging the poor thing around everywhere you go, you wouldn’t even be in this situation.” The captain and the man look at the boy on the boat. “Hell, he doesn’t even know what’s going on. I can’t keep giving you favors like these.”

The man sighs. “You wouldn’t understand.” He pauses for a second. “And why I’m taking him with me is not important.”

“I never even asked about that,” the captain replied.

The man stomped onto the boat. The captain rubbed his hands on his temples, took in a deep breath, and entered the boat.