The coming morning was as dreadful as Abel had figured it would be. The sun was relentless as it began to rise, its heat warming his skin uncomfortably. He turned to put his back to it, but without a shirt, it did little to help. With the sun came a strong breeze from the east, forcing his cage to sway and the rusted metal chain to screech noisily. Abel winced several times before the sound grew into an uncomfortable piece of background noise, joining the screaming of gulls and squawk of vultures beginning to gather on the pillar above, which held the main weight of the cage.

"I see you, you harlots. I am not dead yet, but do not despair. You shall have my meat soon enough. Just let me die with at least the rest of my dignity remaining."

He sighed, shifting a little more to try to get used to the heat.

"They should have at least given me a pillow and cleaned the bottom of the cage."

He had a feeling that he was lying on another prisoner's tamped-down fecal matter, too. As well as dried bird excrement. The waste had likely been cooked down into a second floor by years of sun and harsh weather.

Around noon, the birds began to get more bold. Several gulls landed on his cage, ducking their heads inside of the bars and squawking, almost as if they were asking him if he was dead yet. One even dared to defecate on his shoulder, making Abel grumble. He wanted to flick the feces off, but knew that it would be much easier to remove once it had been dried by the sun. So he just left the droppings be, intent on removing it later.

Later.

Abel sighed at the thought of the word. What was his later? Swinging in the cage above the water, being pecked to death by gulls and vultures.

Sounds about right... and wrong.

He didn't let himself think about the wrong portion, though, knowing that it bothered him and worrying about what he could not change would not help him in his current situation.

There is no help in your current situation, he reminded himself as he swatted at a gull that had dropped down near the bottom of his cage to try to peck a bit of food out of him. It earned itself a kick when it didn't disperse with a swing of his hand.

"Well, at least up here, I can be a man and no one can call me otherwise."

He laughed quietly, then slowly pushed himself up to sit against the bars.

"I am Abel." He thought about a possible last name but couldn't come up with anything that wasn't similar to his former one, and that was the last thing he wanted to put behind his precious first name. And it was precious, even if the man responsible for giving it to him was also the one who had brought him to his death.

He was only doing his job. I have no proof and father has all of it. Even if I had not killed his daughter in their eyes, I am still responsible for her disappearance because I saw her last and was wearing her clothing.

In all honestly, he had looked up to the lawman the moment he had seen him years prior. It was always brief glances here and there as the man went about the town working on certain cases. After spending some time with the man, he still did somewhat admire him.

Maybe if I grew up as a normal boy, I would have been able to learn from him. Perhaps even become a lawman when I was old enough.

That brought up a random curious thought about how old Kirin was. He looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six, but Abel would have liked to ask.

Not going to get a chance to now, he reminded himself as he punched a pesky vulture in the face.

"Sorry, sir, but you need to wait your turn. You do not get dinner until I am dead."

The bird squawked loudly, giving him a glare. "Sorry. Ma'am?"

It ruffled its feather, then flew away.

Guess I was right about it being a female. Or I am going crazy from this heat.

He figured it was both since it didn't matter.

"Nothing matters now."

He thought for a moment, then realized that one thing did.

"I'm dressed as a boy now. I am Abel and will die as Abel, not Ariella."

It was disturbingly reassuring.

"My name is Abel..."

Darn, I want a last name. Surely everyone gets to at least have a last name before they die.

Frowning up through the old steel bars above his head, Abel watched the sky through the shadows of the birds flying about. With a tired nod toward the gull staring down at him from the left top corner of the cage, Abel relaxed his head back against the bars and closed his eyes. He felt the birds peck at his hair and ears throughout the remainder of the day, but none bothered trying to actually remove any flesh. He got to sleep until the sun began going down. It was still a good ways from nighttime, but most of the birds decided to take shelter away from his cage, not interested in being out in the open when darkness fell. Only a few vultures remained, giving Abel some time to relax and watch the sunset begin.

"Hey... Abel?"

Hearing the magistrate's voice, Abel turned his head and looked down. He didn't speak, but it appeared that he didn't need to, since the large man just began talking again once he noticed that he had Abel's attention.

"What is yer las' name, boy? I need t' fill out yer death certificate."

Abel fidgeted, then tried to speak, but the wind whipped away his words before the magistrate could hear them.

"Blast it. Dunno why I din' get it before puttin' ye up there."

Grumbling several more things under his breath, the magistrate waddled up to the lever system and unwound the handle until Abel's cage lowered close enough so that he could be heard.

"What is it now, boy?"

After coughing a few times due to his dry throat, Abel licked his lips and carefully spoke. "May I ask Sir Squire a question about that, please?"

The magistrate seemed frustrated by his request, but when he glanced over his shoulder, Abel followed his line of sight. Kirin... The lawman had obviously just mounted his horse to leave, a large bag tied to its side. I bet that is half of the reward money from father.

"Hey, Squire! Come over here for a moment, will ye?"

Kirin looked hesitant, but eventually he slid from his horse and walked down onto the narrow boards of the pier.

When he stopped beside the magistrate, he refused to look up and instead focused his attention strictly on the man. "What is it, sir?"

"The boy wants to ask ye somethin' before ye go."

Abel could tell that Kirin still didn't want to look up at him. When he finally did meet his eyes, Abel made sure that there was a small smile on his face, not wanting to make Kirin feel worse about the situation.

"What is it, Abel?"

Nervously, Abel replied. "May I have another name?"

Kirin's brows furrowed in confusion. "You... want another name, right now?"

Abel smiled wider and nodded. "I need a last name for the death certificate. Can I have one?"

The man's face began to turn white, making Abel worry that he might have said something wrong. He didn't want Kirin to be upset about anything. He had just been doing his job.

"Um, I am sorry. Never mind, sir. I am fine without."

When Kirin remained silent, Abel turned in his small cage, facing away from the two men so he didn't try to speak again. A song of crickets soon began to take over any sound besides the crashing of waves against the shore. It was peaceful, but Abel felt anything but. When the sound of a pen scratching on rough paper met his ears, he chanced a look down at what the two were doing. By the time he looked, Kirin was already walking away, so he focused his attention on the magistrate. He was still for several moments, then looked up with a raised brow and lopsided smirk.

"Ye seemed to have won the poor man's heart, boy," the man said as he returned the cage to its full height, then began to waddle his heavy girth back up toward the jail.

"Ye will be recorded as havin' died Abel Squire."

Happiness surged through Abel's body as he spun himself fully around to stare at the man walking away.

A full name. I have a full name!

Suddenly being covered in bird poop and hung up in a cage to wither away didn't seem so bad.

You are a fool, Abel.

Even as he turned back toward the ocean to watch the remaining sunset, he couldn't help but grin.

I am a fool. Abel Squire is a fool.