a sirens call

Chapter five- another disappearance

I was in the snack shack in my new uniform, thinking about that man I ran into, he had went missing the same day I wonder why he was even on the beach if people are so scared of it. 'Oh well' I shrugged off the thought.

Even though it was close to the almost isolated beach, the small shack was actually quite busy, sometimes having a line for icecream or even just a drink. So many people came to the little shack, but still no mystery man. I mean, was I dreaming when I saw him? I could have just washed up on the beach, having no saviour. I didn't want to believe that. I was on my lunch break however I wasn't hungry so I went down onto the beach and looked out at the sea once again having the feeling of being stared at but I decided to ignore it like usually.

Suddenly I heard a slight sniffle and turned around to see a small boy wandering the beach alone. "Mama?" He cried out obviously lost. 'Poor thing' I thought. "Hey, kid," He looked over to me "are you lost?" He looked at me for a second. "You're a stranger. Mama says I shouldn't talk to strangers"
"And she's completely right but at the moment you're lost aren't you? Do you need help?" He nodded his head slightly. "Ok kid. I work in the little snack shack up there if you want to wait for your Mama, or I could try and help you find your house." He nodded at the last one. "Ok sweetheart let's get you home." I asked him where he lived, then offered him a piggyback there which he happily accepted.

I wandered around trying to find the street the boy told me he lived on when I ran into Samuel. "Hey lad" he looked at the small boy sleeping on my back. "Jacob? Why have you got him?" I sighed slightly. "I found him on the beach crying, he obviously wandered away from home and I offered to help. He told me he lived on Weardele Road." Samuel shook his head slightly. "That isn't a place here lad" I looked at him confused, "he lives in a Foster center down the street."
"Oh. Poor thing" then an idea came into my head. "You said a center right? So he hasn't been fostered yet?" Samuel shook his head "sadly not. The poor laddie."
"Wheres the center? I think I have an idea." Samuel looked at me confused. "What do you mean by that lad?" I smiled "I'll foster him." I smiled at Samuel, him smiling back at me "follow me kid"

From then on me and Jacob spent all of our time together and it didn't take long for him to start calling me papa. He was a sweet kid and would play by the beach while I worked on Saturdays. I had Thursdays and Sundays off so on my Thursdays I would go around town or onto the beach, but spending my Sundays with Jacob either inside or around town.

One Thursday I went down to the beach and decided to go to the lagoon, once again hearing singing as I crawled through. This time I was doing my best to be as silent as physically possible. When I reached the lagoon I saw something, something I didn't expect, there he was the man that saved my life- only, he wasn't a man at all...