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“So you think the manor is be’ind some, what? Conspiracy?” Dalmir spoke, taking a gulp from his pint. “You sound insane.” His voice was the most animated Chris had ever heard in his short time knowing the boy.

“It’s the only explanation,”

Dalmir hummed, “well everyone gotta ‘ave a ‘obby.” he turned looking at Chris for a long moment.

“What?” Chris asked. “Something in me teeth?” he said in a mocking Dalmir’s accent.

“Your less depressin’ drunk.”

Chris scoffed, “thanks.” he chuckled, lifting his glass to his mouth.

“A little less of an arse’ole.” he continued.

Chris nearly choked on his drink, liquid, running down his nose, as he laughed. “Well i ain’t gonna start chatting with some random bloke am i?”

“Fair,” Dalmir smiled, handing over serviettes, as Chris wiped and blew his nose.

Chris looked down at his hands, watching lights flickering across his skin. It was a beautiful sight that left him with a longing he could never understand, it grabbed him, pulled him, and for a moment he thought of the night before in the kitchen and linger of the moon, he tasted salt on the tip of his tongue. Dalmir rested his chest on his hand, watching a fly circling round a hanging light. Chris took a look towards his face, he was pale, sickly pale, his nose crooked, and his eyes, Chris could not decide what colour they were, for a second they gold in yellow light, then turned a darker hue. Dalmir stood up, “want to go out for a smoke?” he downed the last of his beer.

“Sure,” Chris breathed out.

They sat outside on one of the bench tables, as Dalmir lit his cigarette. “You know,” he started, “smokin’ is bad for you.” he told Chris.

Chris snorted, “no shit,” he said, taking the thing from Dalmir fingers. “If it’s so bad for you why do you smoke.”

“A friend got me into it, and hasn't stopped since. You?”

“Dunno, started when I was fifteen, just kind of got addicted after that. No one but my dad and I smoke in my family.”

“You live up on the cliff right? The white ‘ouse on top.”

“The only one. It gets windy up there, autumn and winter is hell.”

“I see a girl there sometimes, on the beach below, paintin’.”

“My sister.” Chris stated.

“Really?” he sounded a bit shocked, “you don’t look-”

“Alike, i know. I’m adopted.”

Dalmir nodded like it was nothing, “Don’t sound upset.”

“Why? it is, what it is.”

“I don’t know, when I think of people who are adopted, I sorta just think, sad, depressed, angry, whiny, little shits.”

Chris smiled, “i think you just described me when i was thirteen, Christ i was such a bastard. Led to me finding out how my parents really came to find me, but still I would happily punch me in the face, just like James had done, when I crossed one too many lines.” he said a bit too cheerfully, taking a good long puff.

“How?” Dalmir asked, sounding the most interested he had all evening.

“It was early September, the holiday rush was finally calming down. My mum and dad who were working at the cafe.” he paused, “i told you about the cafe right?”

Dalmir shrugged.

“Well, my parents work at a shitty little cafe on the beach with my adic uncle George, he’s been in and out of rehabilitation for about ten, twelve year now.” Chris couldn’t remember the exact number, “anyway it was a normal day for them, serving customers and what have you.” he said the words as if he had spoken, them a thousand times, every word growing more flat. “Near the end of the day, my dad goes to look out at the empty beach, and then he sees me, a kid just left crying by the shore, i think my dad said i was crying for my parents or something, but anyway he took me into the cafe, and left to look for my parents as my mum kept an eye on me, a few hours later my dad come back with nothing, he couldn’t find anyone, so they called social services, who said they would pick me up in the morning.” he took another huff, breathing out smoke through his nose. “So they took me home with them for the night, and the social workers came to collect me in the morning, i think i was in there care for about two three weeks, till my parents requested to Foster me for a bit was approved, i think they felt guilty, plus my mum was thinking of doing a course in physiology and was reading into a lot about the growth of children in foster care.” he sighed tiredly. “So I was their foster kid for a while till they decided they wanted to adopt me.”

“What a party story.”

“It’s quite boring really, social services concluded that I was abandoned since no one came forward to claim me.”

“They must've forgotten you after packin’ up the towels and beach balls.”

“And the sand buckets.” Chris added, handing back the cigarette to Dalmir.

“It’s good you never saw ‘em again, they probably left you behind gettin’ ice creams.”

“At least I got a day at the beach.”

“You can get one everyday.” Dalmir told Chris, leaning back, puffing out smoke through his lips, watching it vanish in the air.

“I don’t really go down to the beach much, it was sort of a thing i did when i was a kid, but i mostly hang out on the pier now.”

Dalmir nodded again, “that's why I've never seen you.”

Chris frowned, “you know that beach below my house is private, right?”

“I windsurf, sometimes I get pushed a bit far and come close to your beach.”

“Makes sense.”

“I gotta get my story straight.” he blew out smoke.

Chris looked at Dalmir’s hands seeing a nice silver ring on his left index finger. It was a serpent of some kind, connecting round biting its tail, “That's nice,” Chris said, tilting his head to Dalmirs hand. He looked down at his hand seeing the ring.

“It was my mothers.”

“Looks expensive.”

“It’s pure silver.” he said uninterested, “fought my brothers for it. We ‘aven’t talked in five years”

“How many brothers do you have?”

“four, i’m the youngest. You?”

“Two sisters and a brother. My oldest sister, the one you see on the beach is at uni, although she is unfortunately home at the moment, my brother is an estate agent, and my youngest sister is still in school.”

“Your brother isn’t that grumpy estate agent is ‘e? the one with blonde hair that looks like a mop?”

“The very one,”

Dalmir smirked, “that’s hilarious.” he looked out to the darkened night sky. “The sky cleared tonight.”

Chris turned his head up, “yeah, you can actually see the stars.”

“So do you parents just not give a fuck when you come ‘ome?” he asked.

Chris smiled, “not really, i mean i think if it gets to a certain time they’d be worried, but i don’t think they’ll be declaring me a missing person just yet. Yours?”

“Pretty carefree, i could be gone for days they wouldn’t say anythin’.”

“Sounds great but terrible at the same time.”

“It is.” Dalmir put the cigarette on the ashtray. “I’ve got a lesson first thing tomorrow.”

“I’ve only only got computing.”

Dalmir climbed off the bench table, “I'll see you tomorrow Chris.” he walked away down the path, leaving Chris to star up at the starry night, and the gaze of the moon...