The Boy & the Turtle

Photo by Justin Wolff on Unsplash

On a foggy autumn morning, in a village by the sea, a little boy was born, and his faint cries could be heard among the crashing tides and the jagged rocks of the coastline. As he grew, a heavy emptiness settled upon his heart, a void that no joy could ever fill. The world shimmered with life—crimson leaves, golden sunrises, the cobalt expanse of the sea—but a darkness persisted within him.

Drawn to the cliff's edge, he was a solitary figure, a silhouette against the vast ocean. The wind whipped his hair, mirroring a turmoil within. A deep breath, a hesitant step forward, and then another. The edge of the cliff loomed closer, its promise of oblivion tempting his fate. He stepped closer to the edge, the roar of the waves below echoing the storm inside him. For a moment, he is teetering on the precipice between despair and relief. Tears welled in his eyes.

He stepped off the edge, gravity taking hold, pulling him down into the waiting embrace of the waves.