The bright sun shone upon the large city perching proudly by the sea, its buildings towering above each other, trying to upstage its neighbors. The high walls surrounding it open from the back as they came into contact with the salty water of the Mediterranean.
The people flooded through the wide streets, each attending to their own business. Either selling their goods or shopping for their own needs undisturbed…
Or so it was supposed to be…
That day, however, a wave of soldiers crashed into the flow of citizens walking about and shopping in the market, causing some kind of clamor as they rushed about with their armor clinking with each step they took. If it was one then it could be ignored. But when it was a battalion, the sound was too loud it somehow served as a warning for a couple of people to step out of the way before the soldiers shouted at them to get away.
The source of this disturbance was none other than a small child, wading his way among the crowd with ease, owning to his little build.
" Stop him!" Cried a voice from behind the kid. " Don't let him get away!"
The hurried footsteps of the soldiers were closer than before, but that didn't seem to bother the child. He smirked broadly under the sun's rays and picked up speed himself.
Someone drawing a cart full of vegetables was crossing the street.
Perfect.
The kid threw his satchel in the air and dropped down in a blink, skidding under the cart before snatching his falling bag once he reached the other side and continued down the path to the port.
The man stopped, confused at what just transpired behind him when a soldier cried at him. " Out of the way! Out of the way! Quick!"
Considering his large cart and its goods, it was almost impossible. The first couple of soldiers managed to stop short before hitting the cart, the two behind them failed to do so and they ran into the previous two, who in turn hit it, the couple that came up next made them all topple it to the side and all the veggies within came cascading on the ground.
The last two, however, stepped on the backs of their fallen friends on top of the upturned cart and followed with the chase.
" Get back here! Sindbad!" The older one of the two soldiers cried at him. The kid turned his head back to see his pursuers before sticking out his tongue.
" You can't keep me trapped!" And he bolted ahead.
" You little!"
The crowd of people thinned the closer they came to the port. That wasn't something good for the kid. He turned back again, calculating how far the two soldiers were behind him.
They were too close. Outrunning them was no option, he needed to shake them off. Yet without the advantage of the crowd and with one steep path down to the port, it was all but impossible.
Sindbad looked ahead again, and the sight of the ships anchored at the port reminded him of why he was chased.
He couldn't give up. Not yet.
" Gotcha!" Cried the younger soldier who lunged at the kid from behind.
Sindbad dodged him to the side and ran up the wall to his right before rounding on the other soldier and pushing himself at him. His feet caught the man in the face and he keeled back, his eyes practically spiraling. " Sorry, but I don't want you catching up with me again."
He turned around and stepped on the back of the head of the other soldier who was trying to get up again only to be sprawled on the ground. " Again! Sorry!" The kid waved as he continued down the path.
The farther he ran, the more the buildings let out, revealing more and more of the blue sea calling out for him, like a mother waiting for her wayward son.
Sindbad's eyes sparkled with exhilaration at that, but only for the briefest of moments.
" You're not running away!"
He risked a peek behind his back and saw the six who had tripped by the cart earlier was on his tail again.
Great. Just as he was about to reach his destination.
Something clicked in the back of Sinbad's mind. He can't board the ship with those soldiers behind him. They would stop it and drag him back if needed. And the captain would have to obey them.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, he glimpsed a ship leaving its spot by the pier and heading towards the vast sea.
Sindbad smiled, his golden eyes glimmered, and he picked up speed. He practically bounced all the way down the sloping path. The soldiers at his tail didn't give up yet, they tried to lung at him one after the other, but Sindbad was more agile than they could give him credit for.
He easily dodged them, even jumped on the head of one of them, and used it as a stepping stone from which to launch himself at the nearest roof.
He bolted forward, knowing full well that he had to make it in time or he would be left behind.
" Don't let him out of your sight!" The soldiers were persistent in their chase. And Sindbad realized that he would soon run out of roofs.
He quickly dropped on the makeshift roof of a fish vendor's stand and the fabric helped boost his jump, he found himself a couple of meters ahead of his chasers.
As the ship was slowly leaving the port, Sindbad saw a figure by its end waving at him.
He needed to make it.
The ground underneath him changed, from the paved routes to the wooden pier, but it didn't slow him.
The kid slung his bag off his shoulder and hurled it ahead when he neared the end. If he wanted to make it, he would need every weight he could spare.
The person at the back of the ship, a mousy-looking skinny and short man, leaned over the edge and grabbed the bag before it fell to the ground.
Sindbad stepped on one of the posts upholding the pier and launched himself forward.
The soldiers skidded to a stop before they could fall down into the water and looked with wide eyes as Sindbad practically soared across the sky, covering the distance between the ship and the pier before he clutched tightly into the ledge, preventing himself from plummeting under the waves.
The little man helped him climb up while the soldiers shouted and waved their spears threateningly.
" Who are you exactly, Sindbad? Why are you chased by soldiers?" The man looked uneasily between him and the soldiers at the port. " Shouldn't we stop?"
" Why?" A voice piped from behind them. They looked back to find their captain, a man large and tall he cast them into the shadow easily. He didn't appreciate shirts much, as such, his burly muscles were made known to the world. His eyes, two pieces from the ocean, were sharp, they needed to be so he could spot both lands and trouble out there, and his beard unkempt and shaggy, which gave him quite the intimidating look if you didn't know him better.
Sindbad knew him better.
He smiled broadly as he looked at the soldiers. " From here, they seem to be waving for us and wishing us a safe trip." He winked at the kid before walking ahead, cupping his mouth as he shouted. " Sorry! We can't hear you over the sounds of the waves! But thanks for seeing us off!"
The captain wore a broad smirk as he looked down at the kid. Sindbad returned it with an even broader one.
" Yes!" The captain turned, facing his crew. " Mawj is sailing out!"
A collective cry escaped the members of the crew as they steered their boat towards the vast blue sea, flanked only by seagulls as the ship broke its way through the waves…