Adrian

Near a stone fountain, Adrian sat alone with only a book to keep him company.  He found friends in the tattered pages of his most treasured novels, and frequently dreamed of living in a fantasy land.  The wind blew and the fountain sprayed a cool mist into the air.  He breathed in the aroma of the water.  It reminded him of home, of seaports and fresh catches of fish, that pungent odor which could only conjure up warm feelings in someone who grew up with it.

He wore a loose blue tank top and shorts the color of sand.  On his left shoulder, he bore a curious tattoo in black ink.  It was a compass, symbolically guiding him toward his dreams and leading his heart in his adventures.  On his right arm, he had even more tattoos.  Here, three seagulls flew on his flesh adjacent to a bracelet composed of seashells.  The seabirds seemed almost animate, as if they were ready to take flight off his body and fly into the sky.  Finally, there were two anchors tattooed onto each of his ankles.  They kept him grounded.

Engaged in his reading, Adrian seemed like he could not be bothered.  But when he caught the smell of the water from the fountain, he looked up and instantly became lost in thought.  Emanating from his core was a maritime mystery, a strong desire to understand his origins.  He dreamed of sailing, of flying over the Atlantic coastline with the seagulls, of letting his compass guide his heart to wherever it wished.

But most of all, Adrian desired to find out who he was.  He secretly hoped his compass would guide him into his past.  He knew that he had been born in Massachusetts, in a small town located on the rocky coastline, but he felt his history was much deeper than that.  He felt like a child of the ocean.  Somewhere in that deep blue was a treasure chest that held the answer, an oyster with a pearl that would reveal it all.

He couldn’t explain the gnawing inside.  It was powerful and omnipresent, even tidal, constantly pushing him to discover and pulling back just before he found what he needed.  He needed to find out why he felt like his soul was as old as the ocean.  The ancient force at his core was extraordinary, even supernatural.

So far away from the Atlantic coast that raised him, he couldn’t help but feel lost.  He heard the sound of the waves crashing in his head.  They called to him.  He clutched at the compass on his shoulder.  It would guide him.  He could find the answers for which he searched.  He needed only to trust his heart.