The Man Who Laughs Part I, Book the First, Chapter III - Alone

In which a solitary child, abandoned upon a desolate cliff and left to the stern embrace of the sea and night, contemplates the profound absence of affection and the severance from his only companions, as the vast, mist-veiled landscape stretches before him like a silent testament to isolation. Resolute yet uncomprehending, he turns his gaze from the retreating vessel towards the treacherous ascent to the unknown land, embarking on a journey beneath a sky bereft of stars and a rising tempest’s ominous shadow.