Silent Echoes

Chapter Four - Gotta Love Vacations

Alex moodily peered out the ferry window, the fog that clung eerily to the waters surface obscured his view greatly.

The waves crashed lazily against the hull of the boat, a reassuring crash of sea-spray that his sister found comforting. She sat by his right arm, holding onto it for support as she leaned over the edge of the flimsy railing to wave at the fish.

The boat they were traveling on was a quaint little thing called The Crimson Aurora. It specialised in ferries and tours, their parents had hired it to get them to the remote island their grandparents lived on, they'd been traveling for six hours now, and still the island was barely a dot on the horizon, talk about remote.

A tender tap on his shoulder brought him back to reality. "Huh?" He turned around with a start.

Despite being hired to take them to the island, Alex and Erica were not the sole passenger. The only other inhabitant beside the crew was a rather elusive and peculiar man.
His stance, clothes and speech were more at place two hundred years ago then in the modern world, but in all that eccentricity, nothing intrigued Alex more than the man's eyes, they were a startlingly bright shade of indigo, and often seemed to twinkle when he talked.

Which is why Alex was not surprised to find himself briefly staring into a sea of purple. The man leaned back in his chair, the tips of his eyebrows twitched in amusement, his eyes twinkled mischievously. "Tell me dear boy," He leaned forward and pursed his lips slightly, "What do you think of the mist?"

"The mist? What about it?" By now Alex had turned to face the man, leaning against the railing in order to properly observe him.

"Everything boyo, don't you feel that rush? The exhilaration of mystery hanging in the air? The mist covers everything, as far as the eye can see. It's that air of mystery that compels people such as you and I to stare, thinking "What if..?". Exciting isn't it?"

Alex shook his head. "Curiosity killed the cat... You know the saying, besides,..." He shuddered "The mist is just creepy, nothing more."

The man cocked a brow. "Don't like eeriness?"

Alex sighed. "No... It's hard to explain.... No offence, but I don't know you or your name, do I at least get to know who you are?"

The man chuckled. "Of course, Alexander. My name is Leopold, but friends call me "The Mystery Man"."

"Nice to meet you, Leopol- Wait, how do you know my name?!"

"Lets call it a mystery." Leopold winked and laughed. "But seriously, I saw the name tag on your satchel."

"Ah... Sorry for being a little paranoid, recently been through some stuff..."

"That's okay boyo," He smiled mysteriously. "Your paranoia might help in the future, now....." He leaned back in his chair and relaxed into the stiff plastic armrest. "I really must take a rest, all this excitement has left me sleepy."

"Hey.." Alex started, but Leopold was already fast asleep. "Never mind....."

Turning back to watch the mist roll against sea, the soft salty breeze ruffling his hair, Alex wondered if maybe his parents were right, maybe he did worry about nothing a lot. Now as he watched his sister recklessly hang off the side of the boat, he wondered if finally, for the first time in fourteen years, he could properly relax.

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It took eight hours to reach the shore, the sun slowly setting on the horizon. As the last rays of light vanished and the mist receded back into the ocean, Alex couldn't help but notice how the fading light seemed to turn the darkening sky an eerie crimson.