The Softest Sheep

Chapter II: I'll see you Again Someday

Before Poly had his sheep, he only had himself.

Poly wasn't alone, though. He had his brothers and sisters living on the island, but they lived a good distance from him. They didn't live in the cave with the campfire. Poly still lit the campfire before his sheep—along with playing the banjo and tap dancing—it's just that he did it for himself.

Make no mistake, Poly wasn't depressed. Sure, he wasn't as happy as we would be later in life when he obtained his sheep, but there was a mild stroke of subtle contentment that painted Poly's life, until one day...

...

Martinilus—Martin for short—was an adventurous man. He, like Poly, lived on a simple island; an island that was far away from Poly's. However, unlike Poly, Martin lived in a house with his family, which only consisted of his mother. He lived in a simple, boring village that forced a monotonous life onto him. Martin would have left sooner if his mother hadn't been adamant about not sailing the water.

"Water is for drinking, Love," His mother had stated. "If water was made to be explored, men would be able to tread it—as they do with dirt."

"Then why is land separated by the ocean?" Martin had asked. "If water wasn't meant to be explored, then islands would certainly be connected with dirt or stone, yet they aren't." This particular argument took place in Martin's bedroom. He was twelve years old at the time, and he was just about to rest his eyes for slumber.

"I do wish you weren't so much like your father, Martinilus." His mother's eyes weren't locked with his. Instead, they were fixed on the hole in the wall, which they called a window, staring at the night and counting every star.

"Surely you expected that to be a given!" Martin's eyes were now too fixed on the window. Not at the stars, however, but at the sea. "Father would have let me go sailing..."

"Are you oblivious to the way he died?" his mother roared after craning her head to face her child. The room fell silent.

"I want to sail the waves."

"Waves were made for killing."

"So were wolves and knives!"

"Yes! And you don't try to sail kitchen knives, do you?"

"That sounds like an adventure!"

"Martinilus—"

"I want to see the sea..."

"Martinilus—"

"I want to see the waves!"

"Martinilus—"

"I want to see the world!"

"Martinilus! You are my only child, and I intend on keeping it that way!" The silence had returned, only that this time it had brought in a ringing in Martin's ears. "Go to bed, Martin." And just like that, his mother had left the room.

That night, as soon as he heard his mother's grumbly snores, he carefully got out of his soft bed and climbed through the window. His room was empty, so there were no obstacles. The only issue was that Martin was a growing boy, and it took him a moment to fit his bulk through the hole, but he was successful.

Their house was by the ocean. After all, even though she had denied it, Martin's mother had liked the sea. So did his father. She would have loved it, or even outright adored it if it hadn't been the sole reason for her husband's passing. They never found his body.

Luckily, since his father was a ship fanatic, there were plenty of ships docked by the ocean. He didn't even have to steal anything, which was an option that Martin wasn't opposed to, for one of his father's favorite ships was there. His death had been recent—not even a year had passed—so Martin's mother had gotten around to selling his belongings. Even if she got the chance, she still wouldn't. She loved her husband too much to just sell his most prized possessions: his ships.

Martin boarded the wooden ship. He knew how to steer it, his father had taught him. He was worried at first. What if I get caught? he thought. What would my mother think? Martin loved his mother, but he loved the sea as well, and he wanted to see it. He had to.

He looked back at the stone house that he escaped from. All the memories from his childhood. He saw a tree in the garden that he and his friends used to climb. Martin never got very high. He never knew what it was like to live in the sky. He wondered if he might be able to see the Gods from up there. Of course, he was very young back then. And young means naïve.

Martin took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and muttered his breath, "I'll see you again someday. I just know it." and sailed away.