The boy racked his brain for any clues as to what had happened before he woke up, yet nothing came to mind.
What was the last thing he remembered? Perhaps he could work his way forward from there.
Wind. He could remember the wind.
The way it howled in his ears furiously, the way it flowed through his clothes and threatened to force him off the ledge he stood on.
Crashing waves echoed hundreds of metres below him, the sound of water violently colliding with the cliffside following him up the mountainside.
“Hurry up Hugo! You’re slower than a slug!” Shouted Gavin.
Hugo’s legs shook and his mind wandered to a dark place. What if he fell? Would the others care? Would they retrieve his body? Images of his corpse impaled on one of the many sharp rocks below filled his head.
Maybe he should jump.
After all wouldn't it be better to die of his own means than to fall on his way up? Wouldn't it be braver to face death head-on?
No. He couldn't give up now.
He slowly lifted his left leg and planted on an outcrop of stone, slowly and carefully adding his weight to the leg. At the same time, his arms reached up to grab hold of the wall for support.
The next thing he knew he was falling backward, his arms grasping the air.  
No. No this couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t die. Not here, not like this.
He didn’t want his body to be washed away to sea, to never be seen again.
His arms acted instinctually as they reached out and flailed desperately for something he could grab, something that could save him from the fall.
The ledge acted as his savour as his hands found themselves tightly clutching the rock, holding himself steady with more strength than he knew he could muster. He felt stronger than ever before as his mind raced. He pulled himself up over the side of the ledge to safety, the feeling of his heart pumping in his chest had become almost painful.
“Did you die?” Called Gavin from above.
“N-Nearly!” He would reply with a slight crack of his voice.
“Then don’t stop! The winds are picking up!”  
The warning was serious, Hugo could feel the strength of the wind rising by the second. He wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer. He felt nauseous like he could throw up or even pass out. His body felt weighted like his clothes had gained a kilogram or two.  
Hugo managed to push past how his body threatened to give out as he once again lifted his left leg and placed it on a separate outcrop, his hands reaching up again and grasping the wall quickly.
He hoisted himself up, slowly but surely. Once he was stable he would lift his right leg and repeat the process. Soon enough he was at the top of the cliff, crawling wildly along the rocky ground. He wanted to be as far from the edge as he could.
Dylan, a boy with silver hair and mocking eyes, laughed at Hugo as he scampered from the edge.  
“He looks like a rat!” Teased the boy.
The others laughed along with him and Hugo swore he could even see Gavin chuckling at him. He had almost died and all they could do was laugh at him.
Push him off the edge
Called a small voice deep inside him, begging for bloodshed.  
Hugo wasn’t violent, he never had been.  
He didn’t have the strength to be violent.
And yet he couldn’t help but agree with the strange voice. He walked towards the bully silently.
The moment he was within arm’s reach he lost his resolve. The voice was gone and he had no idea why he had even listened to it.  
His eyes had looked past Dylan, over his shoulder, and to the endless sea behind him.  
He was speechless, his brain couldn’t describe what the view was like. It was beautiful.
The waves seemed to dance along with one another, creating an endless waltzing of water. The sea itself seemed more alive than Hugo had ever been, its heartbeat present in every drop of salty water. He could see beauty in the way the waves moved together.
His eyes were captivated by the ocean, everything else seems to disappear behind him. He couldn’t think of anything else. He didn’t want to. Just the thought of this moment ending would be painful.
He wanted it to last forever.
“Hugo? C’mon, we’re leaving. Stop oogling the water like a weirdo.” The voice was the only sound capable of cutting through his stupor.  
He couldn’t identify who it was and as he continued to observe the water, the words themselves faded from his memory. The thought of staying forever finally shook him free of whatever had held him.
“C-coming!” Hugo answered as he turned to leave.
Even as he moved away from the cliff, even as the image of the sea left his mind, even as the sound of the waves faded out. Hugo couldn’t help but feel that part of him was still standing on that cliff, forever watching the waters.
Or had he taken part of the sea with him?
That was his final thought before he could no longer remember anything, the events between then and now completely lost to him.
Even now, it still felt as though the sea was with him. If he thought hard enough he could hear the clashes of the waves and could taste the salt on the wind. He could place himself back at the cliff.
 
The settlement was much closer now, he could almost hear the people within going about their days. Just beyond the tree line was the clearing that he called home.
home... How he dreaded the thought of what awaited him ahead.