Chapter 2. The Hope

Holding a hand to his tender side, the young boy continued to walk down the cobbled street. Living in this town for as long as he had, which was years he was oblivious to count, he was able to move with a somewhat intelligible sense of direction. 

Stopping momentarily and raising a hand to steady himself against the wall he caught his breath and tried to block out the pain permeating his body from the night before.

He was unable to find anything to satiate his stomach and was forced to persist for the time being. 

The dull boy had no schedule to follow throughout his days, he simply had to keep himself alive.

Being orphaned at a young age he couldn't remember who his parents were if he had a last name. The only information he was given throughout his life was that he was a boy, and he was trash. Nothing but a street rat.

He had tried to begin life as a thief the night before after watching how older men walked around the market square subtly picking the crowd's pockets. Inspired by them he went to try his hand at it and regrettably chose the wrong first target to begin with.

He angered a local gangster and was rewarded with a beating for his attempt by his lackeys.

As he continued to walk he racked his uneducated mind and devised that it was best to find food and water first. Shelter didn't matter to him since he had just slept in a pile of garbage.

Yes, the first thing he must do is to find food and water. As he was thinking this a sharp pain burst out from his ankle reminding him of the injuries he sustained from those burly thugs. 

He was hurt and he knew it. He didn't know any first aid skills and had no clue if anything important had broken. He couldn't find a doctor with his given predicament but he knew a place that gave healthcare, no matter how small, to people free of charge.

Well, sorta. He's never visited them before due to being afraid of how they would treat someone like him. He has only seen the old and weary seek this place for healing so he would be testing his luck if they accepted the young and poor as well.

Staying close to the shadows, the young boy made his way to the building he had in mind. His appearance warded off any passerby from straying too near, afraid that this feral-looking child would lunge at them if given the chance.

On occasion, he would notice a couple pass by and while the woman tugged on her partner's shoulder, he could see her partner tell her to ignore him and move on. 

Other times children would watch with an alienated look in their eyes as their parents yell at them to come back inside the house and to stay away from the feral-looking child.

The entire town pretended to ignore his existence as he limped to church.

Already used to the weary looks and the scowls he continued on his way minding his own business.

Arriving in the late afternoon, the young boy looked up at the church building, admiring the stained glass windows, the arching doorways, and intricately carved columns. He knew it was a church because it was the only building in the town that had a large bell tower attached to it, ringing out to the devotees in time for prayer.

Finding the large bronze handles of the ornate wooden double doors he carefully opened them and entered without any more hesitance. 

The large doors produced an echoed screech as the rusted hinges scraped against each other, the sound bouncing around the walls inside the large chapel. Cringing at the screeching sound he let go of the door behind him. The sound of them shutting behind him boomed louder than it should have in the empty building causing another cringe at the sound.

Looking around, his eyes darted trying to search for a nun or priest of any sort in the building. Finding none in immediate sight he looked around for any food offerings, to his disappointment he found none. Believing that the priests already took the food offerings away for the day he took a quick lap around the large chamber. 

Continuing to scan the area in hopes of finding food and healing he stalked around the small church. His hopes slowly diminished the longer he couldn't locate them.

As he finally seized his futile efforts and let his head lay low, he noticed the carefully carved designs on the side of the wooden benches lining the interior of the chapel. Looking at all the long benches around him, he found that all the rows and columns led to the middle, in front of their diety, and carried similar designs. 

The beautiful carving he saw on the side of the bench made him take a moment to examine the artwork. Bending down and letting his grimy fingers rub over the grooves he tried to make sense of the art. 

The art depicted a massive bearded man standing amidst the wild waves of the ocean, the waves near him becoming increasingly calmer and calmer the further they went from him. Standing with a shield and sword he looked simultaneously angry and calm, like a stern father as his gaze bore into the young boy's soul. 

Peeling his eyes off the beautiful carving, he stood up and finally took notice of the large statue placed in the center of the chapel. 

Removing himself from the carving he slowly approached the center of the hall where the statue of the deity stood.

He wasn't entirely sure he was allowed to be in here unsupervised and worried about being caught, even though he had done nothing wrong so far, but the fear of being disciplined was heavily outweighed by the intrigue caused by him seeing the statue. 

Arms bruised and bones surely fractured he continued down the walkway until he finally stood directly in front of the statue. 

The statue was made out of carefully carved marble and stood at least four times the size of his young self. 

He found himself at ease staring at the god. He felt as if he were an audience to some great, ancient presence. 

This statue similarly held a sword and shield at his side and adorned with a tunic from one shoulder to the waist, covering all his private parts and the majority of his chest. 

The raging ocean element which was shown in the wooden carved bench was nowhere to be seen but in its place at the feet of the deity was a calm and shallow wave of water covering his feet. 

The carefully carved marble water looked so life-like that he imagined the refreshing feeling of the water encompassing his body and washing all the pain, blood, and dirt away. He wished for the water to flow over him, healing him. 

The young homeless boy took a quick look around to see if anyone was watching him. Finding no one in the vicinity he brought up his dirt-stained hand and touched the shallow water at the feet of the god's statue. 

To his disappointment he didn't feel the refreshing water wash over him but just the cold marble under his touch. 

Sighing, he knew that all things couldn't come true.

"Hello young man, can I help you?"