"It's so pretty..."
Ella rarely ventured out of the city on her own unless it was with Adam and Titus, so this view was new to her. Down to their right, the merchant vessels were but toys in size, floating aloof on the grandiose waters that were the sea. The hill they were on had plateaued, so the beach to the left would be hard to see from their resting spot until they neared it's eventual slope.
"If you're too tired, Ella, we can just have our picnic here and save the other side for another day," Adam said reassuringly.
Titus sat down on the other side of Adam next to the basket, and pulled out an orange of his own, peeling it as he watched the water and listened in on his friends' exchanges.
Ella waved her feet in the air behind her and rolled towards Adam until she was on her back with one of her sides pushed up against his leg playfully. She stared up into his amber eyes and smiled in relief.
"Thank you, Adam. I would love to see the beach you found for us, but you're right. I guess I'm too weak to handle these long hikes of yours!" a giggle followed Ella's response.
Adam smiled and looked back down at his friend, reaching down to pat her head, "It's ok, Ella. I'll always be here to take care of you."
Ella closed her eyes restfully as Adam's head pat turned into a light stroking of her hair. Titus let out a soft sigh as he tossed his orange peels over the edge of the cliff. A few moments passed before Ella had slipped into a nap, Adam taking back his hand to focus on pulling out a lamb kebab from the basket. Adam looked over to Titus, who continued to calmly stare out at the water with a look of sadness in his eyes.
"What's wrong, Titus?"
Titus clenched his jaws as a his eyes began to well, making it apparent that he was on the verge of tears and fighting it.
"Seeing this... it makes me sad that I won't ever have a father to take me out like this. To go fishing together or hunting..."
Adam could not see it from where he sat, but a single tear rolled down the right side of his friend's face in that moment. Titus sniffed as he looked away from Adam.
Adam's heart dropped at his friend's words. It was hard to hear, but he could relate to his friend's pain. Adam never knew his father, but was told he was a great man whose work called him elsewhere by his mother. He often wondered what life would be like if his father was present, but found ways to fill the gap of his absence with an over abundance of love from his mother, the every day friendly interactions with people in the market, and most importantly: his friends.
Adam smiled comfortingly, "That may be your reality right now, Titus, but that's why you have us. We are your family, and when the time comes, we'll make lives of our own where we can do whatever we want and not have to look back."
Titus' sniffing came to a halt as he slowly turned his head back up to Adam, "Do... do you really mean that, Adam?"
Too far to reach him, Adam place a hand over the basket between them as a consoling gesture.
"Yes. You're my brother, Titus, and you always will be," Adam's smile eased into a grin as he extended the kebab to him, "Now eat up! You must be starving after that hike."
Titus eyed the kebab that laid before him before accepting it. His eyes trailed down to the basket that was full of even more food and was reminded why he loved Adam as a brother so much. He never ceased to amaze him with his ability to provide for him and Ella, though they never once asked for his help. It was like he understood their situations and, instead of addressing them verbally, knew the right actions to take to make them feel safe. If only he had the courage to live life as boldly as Adam did, Titus knew he could make a real change in his life, but his overwhelming father constantly loomed over him.
"... and when the time comes, we'll make lives of our own where can we do whatever we want and not have to look back..."
Titus repeated Adam's words in his head. When he looked back up to thank Adam, he found him laying down contently with his feet dangling off the edge, his rested head against Ella's.
"... my brother..."
Titus ate some more food until he was satisfied and joined his friends in their afternoon nap, allowing the faint crash of the waves below to lull him to sleep.
____________________
Ella stretched her arms upward as she woke herself up from her light sleep. The nap she had taken was short, but did well to restore her. As she looked to her side, she noticed Adam was gone, with Titus a short distance away still resting.
"Adam?" she called softly, scanning the surrounding area to see where her friend could have gone. A slight sense of panic rose in her as she feared maybe he slipped off the cliff. She rushed to the edge on all fours and peered over, not being to make out anything that resembled him.
Looking further to her left, she was able to see past the cliff's curvature and the small cove that resided there. It was hidden between the cliff she was on and another, where accessing the rest of the land would be impossible unless one climbed another cliff. The cove was untouched by man, as there were no geographical advantages to its situation. So this is what Adam had found.
Ella stood up and walked over to the left edge of the cliff and saw that it had a concave curve that, while steep, wouldn't be impossible to traverse. Looking back down at the water from this angle, she could make out a small figure protruding vertically from the shoreline. A splotch of blonde made it clear to her that it was Adam!
"Adam!!" she called out, but the distance and wind between them made it so that it would be near impossible for him to hear. Without a second thought, Ella began her trek down the cliff, careful with each step as so she wouldn't carelessly trip. Large rocks imbedded into the hill made for easier steps along the way, but occasional loose gravel and dirt served as obstacles in her path to Adam. The closer she got to him, the further he seemed to be, with the full extent of the distance becoming more real with every step she took. But it was too late to turn back now. Going back up to get Titus would only tire her more and it was easier to go down than back up. Fixed on her goal to reach her friend, she continued on the dangerous course and proceeded with caution.
By the time she had reached the bottom, Ella's feet and ankles had been bruised and scratched in various areas, with little energy left to even shout out Adam's name. Throughout the entirety of her descent, Adam had remained steadfast in his posture, staring out into the ocean with the tide at his mid calf, unaware of the Ella's struggle to reach him.
"Adam..." Ella huffed as she dragged her feet into the waters behind him.
"Ella?" Adam turned just in time to catch Ella mid-collapse once again, holding her under her arms and pulling her up into himself in a something of a supportive hug.
"Why did you come down here? You know you couldn't make it back up," Adam questioned his friend, a worried look on his face.
"I... I had to get to you..." she said between labored breaths. Adam frowned in concern.
"If you knew you couldn't make it back up, you should've just stayed at the top until I came back."
"I know..." Ella buried her face in the young boy's chest, "You just looked so... alone..."
Adam's heart sunk a bit with Ella's words. He didn't know exactly what it was he felt, but he knew that all he could do in that moment was embrace her, pulling her in and stroking her long, black hair.
"Well, I said I'd always be here for you, so I guess now's as good a time as ever!" Adam smiled brightly as he let go of Ella and turned his back to her, crouching down.
"Wh-What are you doing, Adam?" Ella fumbled her words.
"What does it look like? Get on my back, silly!" Adam patted his lower back with a hand and crouched lower.
"B-but, you can't! There's no way you can make it back up there with me on your back!!" In addition to her confusion, Ella started to get angry at Adam's sudden act. How could he expect to make up for her mistake by taking the burden of scaling the cliff with her all by himself??
Adam chuckled lowly, a grin forming across his face.
"Trust me, Ella, I got this. You're in good hands."
Wordlessly, the young girl complied and climbed onto his back, her friend gripping her legs tightly as he waded through the water and up to the base of the cliff. Without even stopping, he started the climb.
Adam was hardly burdened by the added weight of Ella, who couldn't have weighed more than fifty pounds. To any kid their age, the added weight would've been a burden, but not to him. Given his abilities, even at his age, he could carry more baskets of fish, more buckets of water, and more baskets of fruits than any man he's met prior. But to Ella, who was still unaware of his true prowess, he was nothing short of a miracle in that moment. Not a word was exchanged between the two as Adam traversed the incline, but not a word was needed, for Adam new that he would hold true to his promise. In no time, the seemingly impossible height was reached, and Adam set Ella back down where she had been before. Titus was still fast asleep, with a peaceful look on his face, and seeing him so put Adam's soul at ease.
Adam reclaimed his seat next to the basket and peered inside to see what was left.
"Awh, Titus took all the good stuff!"
Ella stared in awe at Adam as he resumed the light-hearted air that he always carried, seemingly unfazed by the daunting feat he had just accomplished.
"At least there are some crackers and cheese left! Here, take this, Ella!"
A handful of crackers and cheese were presented to Ella, whose wandering mind had caused her to be startled when she finally came to. She accepted the snack and held them in her lap, continuing to watch Adam as he went back into the basket in search of more snacks.
"You're really strong, Adam..."
"Yeah, it's all the hard work I've been doing! And it's thanks to you guys that I get to do it!"
Adam whipped around with a leather flask and some more cheese in hand, setting the flask at Ella's side.
"Oh yeah, drink up too, you're probably really thirsty!"
"Why are you doing all this, Adam?"
"Huh?"
"This," Ella spread her arms out to showcase the land around them and brought her hands back towards the basket.
"Ahh..." Adam turned to face ahead at the water, "You know why... Sorry, you know I'm not good with my words!"
Ella scooted herself closer to Adam and began to nibble on her food, joining him in watching the deep blue sea swell and calm ahead of them.
"Yeah, you really aren't..."