The sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm, golden glow across the restless sea. Damon stood at the shore—the waters gushing past his feet, a familiar embrace of both solace and sorrow.

He was no stranger to Madina—this island city. On his seventh birthday, Damon’s parents brought him here. This city had the best view of the sea on the entire island. His parents, who were rather busy and barely at home, went through the trouble of going on this hour-long trip. Whenever around his parents, the air held a tension, a subtle fear that Damon sensed but couldn’t name. His parents must’ve been hiding something, but what? What bothered them so much that they isolated their only child from the outside world? Damon wondered. The atmosphere was a lot different though. It felt…calmer. Damon glanced at his parents—their gazes fixed on the water’s edge. He couldn’t help but smile. Perhaps, whatever problem his parents had had been resolved. Usually, Damon wouldn’t have asked, but he did. For the first time, on their way home from Madina, he asked his parents if they could make a stop at the mall to buy him a birthday present. They did. In fact, they gave him a huge amount of money to buy anything he wanted. Overly excited, Damon snatched the money from his father’s hand and rushed into the mall. He knew exactly what he wanted—the exclusive Spider-boy action figure! As he strolled through the mall, Damon realized he had no idea where to find it.  He decided to go find his parents and ask them, but when he got outside, their car was gone… Damon begun to panic but he calmed himself down.

“Maybe they went home. Afterall, this mall isn’t far from our house. Maybe they knew I would find my way back”

Damon convinced himself with these words, as he dashed out of the mall and towards his house, running as fast as he could. He finally got there, but to the shock of a sign which indicated that the house had been sold. Damon’s world froze. What was happening!?

“The day started so nicely. Mom and Dad actually took me out today! We even went to the mall!! So why? Am I at the wrong place? No. This is definitely our house. But Mom and Dad aren’t—.”

Damon’s thoughts were interrupted. He looked up to see a boy just a little older than him.

“Umm… Do you need something?” The boy asked.

Damon didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even fully understand the situation.

“Wh-who’s house is this? I mean…who has it been sold to?” Damon managed to voice out.

“Oh! This house? It was sold to my parents. The previous owners had a meeting with them. They mentioned that they were moving overseas. Maybe to Europe, or Asia, or Africa… Somewhere bigger than this Island for sure! I also heard they had a son. He must be so excited. Haha”

Damon could no longer stand to hear what was being said. He turned and walked away—away from the home which was no longer his. Everything that happened after that was a blur. He wandered the streets—lost, and found himself in a ramshackle town. He had nowhere to go and no money to survive on. He’d already spent the little money he had, so he resorted to other means—stealing. He started with breaking into houses. Then, beating up people and collecting their money. With each passing second, Damon lost himself to the darkness of the world he had been left in. He made friends with notorious delinquents, joined a gang and broke the law more times than could be counted.

Damon soon turned eleven years old. In a mere four years, his life had changed completely, unfortunately, for the worst. He could barely recall how it happened but he was surrounded by a crowd, red and blue lights emanated from the police cars. Damon saw himself on top of a man. He looked at his hands clutching a knife. He was about to stab this man, but he was stopped by the police. Damon had no reason to defend himself. The situation was quite clear for the onlookers. No one would believe him if he said “This was an accident. I wasn’t about to kill him!” He was handcuffed by the police without struggle and taken away to a juvenile detention centre in a city.

…

“An eleven-year-old did that? Ha! I’d like to see him.”

“You can’t. He’s very violent. Even with the older inmates.”

“Huh? I’m 29 and a certified police officer. Plus. I have a little brother who’s the same age.”

“So!?”

“So, I can handle this. I’m going to meet him. You can come with me if you want.”

“Ethan!! Ugh. This kid! Alright let’s go.”

…

Weeks had passed since Damon was arrested. With no one to defend him, all he could do was stay there till his term was over. No one ever came to visit; his gang members had no idea of his whereabouts. So, it was certainly strange for him to be in the juvenile detention centre’s designated visitation area. That morning, a youth justice worker visited Damon’s cell, informing him that someone was there to visit. Damon was particularly astonished. Who could it have been? He imagined it being all sorts of people—his friends, gang members. Or maybe his parents had decided to show their faces after so many years.

“Oh! Is that him?”

Damon heard an unfamiliar voice and looked up to see two men in police uniforms—one who looked a little young to be a police officer and the other so old he could be close to retiring age. The former took a seat in front of Damon while the latter remained standing, preferably. Damon didn’t know what to expect from the two. The younger officer introduced himself.

“Damon, right? I’m Ethan. Nice to finally meet you.”

Damon didn’t say a word. He didn’t know these people. Ethan noticed this. He noticed that Damon had absolutely no interest in whatever he was saying. So, he decided to get straight to the point.

“Damon, would you like…to come live with me?”

“What?!” The older officer, who hadn’t said a word since he arrived, exclaimed.

Ethan continued, telling Damon that his term in the Detention centre would be over in two weeks. Once his term was over, he would be released. But Ethan pointed out that returning to that ramshackle town will do him no good.

“I can take you out of here” he said, bringing himself down to Damon’s eye level, “away from this darkness. You’d live with me.”

Damon finally spoke, his brow furrowed. “Why? Why would you do that? You don’t even know me.”

“You’re right, I don’t know you.” Ethan said softly. “But I can tell you’re smart, and you’re worth so much more than you realize, I can help you leave your cruel past behind and become a better person—a new you!

Damon gave in. His heart wavered between scepticism and hope. Ethan’s words—the promise of a second chance—stirred something deep within him. The weight of his past battles eased, replaced by the possibility of a different future.

“A new me…” Damon wondered if maybe, just maybe, Officer Ethan could be the lifeline he desperately needed.

The paperwork was complete. Damon moved in with Ethan and met his little brother, Tristan, who was the same age as him. They lived like a family—all three of them. Four years later, Ethan was posted to a station in Madina.

It’s finally begun. Damon’s redemption—a new life in a new city.

Hopefully, everything goes well…