The Cost of Kindness

A red-faced man with bulging eyes clamped a rough hand around a disheveled boy's wrist. His other arm was raised high in a fist, veins popping out, prepared for another strike.

"I warned you! If I ever caught you again. If I ever as much as saw you. Skulking around my place!"

The captured boy didn't respond, didn't move at all. He was hanging lifelessly, posture stiff, eyes shut tight, teeth bared. One of his cheeks was glowing pink and swollen.

There were no other onlookers, only Ray. He had no idea what exactly happened and no unbiased witnesses to ask about the confrontation. He didn't want to go in blind, but neither could he let a kid be beaten half to death. Even the most naughty kid.

Ray exhaled and put on his usual smile.

"You seem to be upset a whole lot. What happened?"

The incensed man glared at him. "Upset?!" he looked ready to drop the boy and come swinging his fists at Ray. "I'd like to see you getting. Upset! After being terrorized by this filthy lamprey all the time."

Ray glanced at the kid and caught him looking from under the half-closed lids. The boy quickly turned away. "So what did he do, besides hanging around your place?"

"He is a thief! Ever since he drifted into our town, every house in the neighborhood had a thing or two go missing."

The kid stayed silent. He didn't want to defend himself. Or couldn't.

"Is some item of yours also gone?"

"Do you doubt my word? You don't look like a guard. You aren't even from the Sunken Arbors. Stop meddling!"

"Look, I’m just here to help. So, what have you lost?"

"Not lost!" man's face grew dangerously crimson, he marched towards Ray. "This shifty bastard stole it. Nicked it right off my windowsill."

He growled and shook the boy. Plop! The kid slipped down on the pavement, bounced up, and clung to Ray's side, grabbing at his clothes, almost pulling the jacket of his shoulders.

"Please, mister! This old smelly fart is plain crazy. I wouldn't want to touch his shit, let alone steal it. You gotta teach him a good lesson for all the abuse and slander he put me through. Come on, give him a proper thrashing!"

Ray's smile stiffened. He oh so wished to be anywhere else, maybe on the peaceful and secluded ocean floor.

"Knew it! You are in on it with the blasted brat. Bring it on! I'll take you both. You won't scare me."

"No, no, and no. No to everything," Ray struggled to pry boy's fingers away from his body while not letting the fuming man out of his sight. "I don't know this kid. And we don't have any reason to fight."

"Then hand the lying thief over. I'll show him who is the smelly one and who is getting the real thrashing!"

"That... I'm afraid I can't do. Children hitting is off the table. Look how small he is." Ray stepped back while holding the boy by the shoulders in front of himself.

"That is no child! That's a menace, a nasty parasite. I won't stay idly and let my neighborhood be nibbled clean by this scrawny criminal. Give him back," the man tightened his fists and leaned down, a shark ready to strike.

"I'm strongly against violence. Not much of a fighter after all. How about we find another way to settle this? And you still haven't told me what he stole from you?"

"Aha, not denying it anymore! The boy is a thief. He stole the yellow coral pendant my wife took off before starting on the baking."

Ray crossed his arms on the chest, pretending to think, carefully sliding his thumb against the breast pocket. "If he is indeed the thief, he should still have the pendant," he gripped the boy's shoulders and squeezed. "You can check while I hold him. But! No violence."

"And when I find the pendant, you step out of this and let me beat this bastard to a pulp."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

The boy gave a few meek attempts to escape, but quickly gave up and stayed motionless throughout the search.

"You've already checked there. I see now, the boy doesn't have your pendant."

"He does! He probably hid it or tossed it out as he saw me coming."

"Missing your wife's precious pendant would be extremely upsetting, but you shouldn't take it out on a poor homeless child," Ray let go of the boy.

"It isn't missing. It's stolen! I don't know how he did it, but I swear on Jupiter's trident, the brat is guilty."

"It pains me to see you so distraught, you'd accuse a snotty kid. Here, I'll leave 300 shells on your windowsill. Go buy your wife another pendant. She deserves it."

Ray looked around to lead the boy away. But the little culprit was nowhere to be seen.

***

Exhausted, Ray couldn't find it in himself to ask around the town for much longer. It anyway seemed like the traffic for Sunken Arbors was but a puny trickle.

Internally apologizing to his sister for not turning over every stone in search of her, he dragged his feet back to the submarine.

Ray choked back his tears. Those were his last shells. Last! Now there was no other option but to find a quick job during the next stop. Would it be too much wishful thinking to imagine there was someone looking for help with a marine animal? Preferably, a rare and majestic one. Well, there was no one more precious than Angie, but...

The door was clearly tampered with, it stood ajar. The light of the lock blinking a welcoming green.

The cabin was dark. A tuneless humming echoed from somewhere close. Ray followed the sound. In the kitchen. The shrimps were also awake and shining bright there.

"Took you long enough, mister," a bright, scratchy voice called out.

The boy from before was sitting atop a counter, his expression hidden by a wide muffler with a wave design. Disheveled blue hair sticking out every which way.

Ray stiffened. "Uh... legs off the counter? That's the food zone."

"Don't sweat the small stuff. It's more comfortable this way."

Slowly counting to ten in his head convinced Ray that it would take less energy to clean the entire room rather than indulge a child in an immature argument.

"So you're a hacker as well, in addition to all other impressive talents."

"I do what I have to survive."

"What's your name, kid?"

"I'm not a kid."

Was he sulking? "I'd still like to have your name."

"And I'd like my thing back."

"Your thing?"

"I took you for a simple oaf at first-"

"Thanks, kid."

The boy glowered. "But when I checked your pocket on my way out, it wasn't there anymore.  So stop the play pretend."

"Was not me who started the game," Ray shrugged.

"Aren't you embarrassed, mister? Playing games with a 'snotty kid'?" he made a face, pushing his nose up with a finger.

"Embarrassed? For saving a helpless child from a certain doom? Pft, never!"

Ray stared at the boy. The boy stared at the inside of his muffler.

"Aren't you too stuffy in this thing?"

"I'm fine," the kid wrapped the cloth tighter around himself.

"Must be tough wearing it all the time. Let me know if you'd want me to change the temperature."

"There is only one thing I want! Give it back!"

Ray straightened, puffed his cheeks, made several exaggerated passes with his arms in the air, then brought his palms close together. "Ta-daa!"

Hanging from a string wrapped around Ray's fingers was a small yellow stone, shaped like a crescent moon.

The boy only frowned.

"Usually, children clap for my trick. Tough crowd tonight."

"It's mine," he extended a hand.

"Yours. Since when?"

"It is mine now. That's what matters."

"Why would you steal this anyway? Such a cheap thing. I shouldn't have left that much money. But who knew you don't have an eye for value."

"Typical. An alarming lack of imagination. Nothing in your rotten head but money."

Ray ignored him. "Even judging on aesthetics, it is... mediocre, if I'm generous. Or were you going to eat it?"

"Ha-ha," the boy mocked. "Expected clapping for your lame jokes too?"

"I just can't grasp why you would take a risk, stealing such a useless thing."

"It is pretty! Now give the stone back already if it's worthless anyway!" he jumped off the counter.

"Easy. Never said I wouldn't."

"Don't give a crap what you say. I see what you do. And you're still holding on to it."

"Alright. What can you trade me for the pendant?"