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It was a beautiful day out and I was just itching to get outside after typing up my latest article. My job gets a little boring writing about mainly politicians or new bills coming out but it pays well and let’s me live on this beautiful little island where there’s only about 25 families. It’s just a short ferry trip to get back to the states so I don’t miss out on anything like shopping malls, or concerts. I can just have my mail shipped to a post office in the states and I make a trip there by ferry every week. Today the ferry is coming at noon so I was planning on taking a walk around the island before I went to get my mail and run errands. I hope I don’t run into any of my neighbors this morning, they’re like family but this morning I just need to clear my mind. I grabbed my floppy hat, keys, and wallet and headed out the door. I was walking along the shore line kicking the water a little when I heard a little kid crying. I ignored it at first thinking maybe one of the kids on the island just got hurt and their parents were going to help them but it continued. Maybe one of the kids was wandering without their parents and got hurt. I figured I should check it out and help them get back to their parents. There's only 4 families with young children on the island so it wouldn’t be hard to find them, especially since we all know each other. The crying is coming from a small cave on the island. I entered the cave and immediately the crying stopped. I walked in a little farther and found a three year old boy curled up on the ground covered in scratches and bruises. I have never seen him on this island before and he looks so scared. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to help you get cleaned up and find your parents.” I reached out to help him up and he just stared at my hand before slowly grabbing it. He could barely hold himself up and almost fell back down. I just scooped him up and he flinched at the quick movement. “Shhh it’s okay I’m going to help. Let’s get you home and take care of those scratches” It took 7 minutes to walk back to the house carrying him. When I got home and set him down on the chair he didn’t move a muscle and still looked petrified. I put on some cartoons to try and help calm him down but he just looks confused at all the moving objects and sounds coming from the tv. I grabbed my first aid kit and a wash cloth and headed back by him. I started washing his face as he just sat and stared at me. “Do you know your name?” He just shook his head no. “Can you talk?” He hesitated and shook his head yes. I don’t think I’ll be able to get much information from him so maybe taking him to the states to see if the police could help find his parents would be best. I finished cleaning him up the best I could with just a washcloth before applying cream to all his cuts so they didn’t get infected. By the time I finished with everything it was 12:30 so I had missed the ferry and had to wait two days for the next trip out. “Okay buddy I can’t take you to find your parents for a few days because I have to wait for a ship to get back to the states so we can have the police help but we can get some food in your belly and get you some rest for now” he just nodded his head at what I said and watched me as I made him some French toast. I cut it up and set it down with syrup but he didn’t touch it and kept looking at me to see how I was eating. I showed him how to cover them with syrup and pick it up with his fork. He must not have ever had French toast before. After eating I brought him to the spare room to tuck him in for a nap.
