The silence that enveloped them after Devon's explanation wasn't an empty one, but rather a comfortable silence, filled with a new and peculiar understanding. Shia no longer saw the book in Devon's hands as a strange, dry piece of tree bark, but as a portal to a complex and confusing world, a world of human feelings far deeper than any trench she had ever dived into. She lay on her back in the sampan, mimicking Devon's pose, her small tail fin occasionally tapping the air gently. The light from the twin moons bathed her pale skin, making her look like a creature from an ancient fairy tale.
"Hey, Book Human," Shia called out softly, her voice now lacking its usual cheerfulness, replaced by a gentler curiosity.
"Hmm?" Devon replied without opening his eyes, enjoying the near-perfect silence.
"Do you... do you have a home?" Shia asked. "I mean, not this wooden sampan. But... a place to go home to. Like... a big, warm coral to sleep in?"
Devon smiled faintly. The question, in its innocence, felt so profound. "Something like that," he answered, his tone remaining calm and slightly mysterious. "A place where I can put my books without fear of them getting wet." He paused for a moment, then opened his eyes and glanced at the half-shark girl beside him. "What about you, Shia? Where is your home?"
Shia stared at the boundless lavender sky, her blue-green eyes reflecting the light of the twin moons. "My home..." she murmured, "...is this ocean." She waved her hand, gesturing to the calm, mirror-like waters around them. "Wherever the current takes me, that's where my home is."
"What about your family?" Devon asked again, his voice gentle.
"Family?" Shia tilted her head. "I have one! There are so many of them! About two hundred. Their skin is silver, and their fins shimmer in the moonlight. We swim together, hunt small fish together, and sleep together in the warm currents." She smiled broadly. "They are the best family."
Devon understood. Shia's family was a school of fish. She had no parents, no siblings in the human sense. She was the sole child of the ocean itself. There was a beautiful loneliness in that answer, an independence born of nature.
Shia suddenly sat up straight, her eyes widening as if she had just realized something. "Ah! I have to go home!" she exclaimed. "It's time for my family to hunt glowing plankton in the Mirror Canyon! They must be waiting for me!"
She prepared to jump from the sampan, but then she stopped. She turned back to Devon, her cheerful smile fading slightly, replaced by an expression rarely seen on her face: hesitation.
"Um... Devon..." she called, her voice now smaller, almost a whisper. She looked down, staring at her webbed toes. "Will... will we meet again?"
The question hung in the silent air, filled with the vulnerability of a child afraid of losing her new friend. For the first time, Shia didn't sound like a confident sea creature, but just like a lonely little girl.
Devon didn't answer immediately. Slowly, he sat up, then stood. His tall, athletic body towered over the small sampan, becoming a strong silhouette against the backdrop of the twin moons. His white robe fluttered slightly despite the absence of wind. He glanced around the boundless ocean, his eyes hidden behind his messy black hair scanning the horizon with a calm and certain gaze.
Then, he saw it. A faint silhouette in the distance. A dark spot on the silver mirror of the ocean. An island.
Without saying a word, Devon raised his arm and pointed straight towards the silhouette. It was a simple gesture, yet laden with promise. An answer without words.
Shia's eyes followed the direction of Devon's finger. When she saw the island in the distance, her previously anxious face immediately lit up like the sun. She understood. She didn't need to ask any more questions. A wide smile filled with sharp teeth returned to her face.
"Then!" she exclaimed cheerfully, returning to her former self. "See you again tomorrow, Weird Book Human! Don't let your heart be eaten by shy pearl clams!"
With that, she leaped backwards, her slender body arching in the air before diving gracefully into the calm sea water. SPLASH! The only sound that broke the silence, creating ripples that slowly spread across the mirror-like surface. A moment later, her head reappeared, and she waved enthusiastically before finally disappearing completely underwater.
Devon stared at the slowly fading ripples until the ocean returned to perfect stillness. He was alone again.
He lay back down in the sampan, put his hands behind his head, and let his small boat drift slowly with the invisible current, towards the island that promised their next meeting. He didn't pick up his book. For now, he just stared at the lavender sky and the twin moons, a faint smile playing on his lips. The silence felt different now. No longer empty, but filled with the echoes of laughter and the promise of a meeting tomorrow.