Pov, William
I stay on the floor of the boat, my body still shaking, until I see the old man again in front of me, addressing me, while holding some sixties-era clothes in his hand.
"Here you go. Change your wet clothes."
I swallow and stare at him silently, he smiles at me and I smile back, taking the clothes out of his hand. "Thank you.. for saving me"
Then he hands my son a white hoodie and black pants that look more like what girls wear. I try not to laugh when he's standing near me.
He stares at me with narrowed eyes, arms crossed over his chest, as if he's about to say something.
I wonder.
Were you just pretending to drown to get my attention and follow me? Daddy?
I am so shocked that I open my eyes really wide and stare at him. I swear I didn't see his lips move, but I just heard his voice speaking to me.
Do you know how many powers he has?
If you're looking for an answer, you might want to rethink your strategy, Evander.
Or maybe I'm just imagining things because I'm so tired.
...
I'm sitting on the couch in the fancy boat, and I notice all the antiques and medals lined up on the shelf in the corner.
It shows that the old man had an adventurous and successful life.
Not like my boring life.
I'm not a fan of Evander's childish behavior. He's always touching everything.
I give him a stern look as I patt on the couch next to me, hoping that a miracle happens and he does what I say.
"Evander, would you mind not messing with other people's stuff and coming sit next to me?"
"Here you go." The old man's voice, with his strange accent, catches my attention. He offers me a glass of juice and looks at me with a gentle smile.
It's just like my grandfather's.
"Thanks."
I take the glass from his hand and smile. Then I ask him, kinda curiously, "You're not English?"
He's sitting on the couch in front of me, crossing one leg over the other, staring at me, and then he answers, "Yeah, I'm English, but I was born and raised in Germany. I recently decided to live here after liking the place. "
I nod and remain silent, then turn to his granddaughter, who suddenly comes in and stands in front of me, a little frown on her face." I'm sorry."
She hands me the crystal, and I take it from her hand. Then I totally get what her grandfather was talking about in the kitchen.
She walks over to Evander, embarrassed, and puts a strand of her golden hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry I stole your crystal," she says.
Then there's a awkward silence, and the goblin stares at me with a frown, and then he smiles broadly. "No worries."
He gives her a big hug.
I slap my forehead, embarrassed, and then the girl's gone.
"Sorry, but my granddaughter is obsessed with collecting precious and exotic oceanic objects. Ever since she was a little girl, she's believed in the existence of Atlantis." The man laughs lightly and rests his back on the couch.
I smile and contribute to the conversation. "Cool, I still believe in goblins."
I glare at the brat out of the corner of my eye, and he just shrugs his shoulders and goes back to messing with other people's stuff.
"Is he your son?"
"Yes."
He nods, then I look at my son as he grabs a picture frame and holds it in both hands. I think I see a puzzled look on his face as he stares at the picture, as if something had caught his attention.
I see the owner of the boat standing next to him, taking the frame out of his hand and describing how precious the memory on the picture is.
"That's my son. He's deceased, and next to him is his daughter. This is his wife. It was the first day we took my little granddaughter fishing, and she caught her first one. I'm thankful that the love of fishing has been passed down from generation to generation."
He smiles a little and says, "It was a really nice day. We had a celebration to mark the occasion."
I look down, and Evander taps his index finger on the face of one of them. "The woman, I've seen her before."
We're both surprised by what my son just said. He comes up to me and shows me the face of the woman I just recognized.
"Look dad, doesn't she look like your mom?
She does.
...