How much time had passed? Lin had given up on counting the days. The baby in the boat was no longer a baby. He had some strength in his legs now and would grunt as he tried to stand up by holding onto the edge.
"Noah, if you fall, you're dead. I'm too lazy to fish you out."
Lin grumbled from underwater, rocking the boat. Of course, Noah couldn't hear Lin's voice. He just thought the ripples were fun and reached out to start a water fight. The boy was starting to talk a bit. Since he had no one to teach him, most of it was just strange babbling.
"Water! Water!"
Noah shouted, reaching over the side. Lin let out a sigh. This kid had no clue that the water he was looking at was actually a terrifying spirit protecting him. Lin pulled a thin stream of water up and poked Noah on the cheek. Noah burst into fits of giggles.
One day, a huge wooden crate was floating in the middle of the sea. Curious, Lin pushed the boat toward it. Inside the crate were a few old books and some dried fruits. Using her power, Lin tossed the crate into the boat.
"Here, eat. You can't live on just water forever."
Noah picked up a piece of dried mango and took a huge bite. His eyes went wide. It was probably the first sweet thing he'd ever tasted in his life. Watching him, Lin felt a strange sense of pride.
But the sea wasn't always peaceful. In the distance, a large fin appeared. It was a man-eating shark. The creature spotted the small wooden boat and approached, licking its chops. Lin's eyes turned cold.
"You dare try to put your mouth on my toy?"
Lin made the seawater swirl into a vortex. The shark panicked as its body was twisted and tried to flee. But Lin didn't show mercy. She increased the water pressure and launched the shark far away. Noah just saw the big splash and clapped, shouting, "Whoa!"
At night, Noah would lie on the bottom of the old boat and watch the stars. Beside him, Lin would create little fish shapes out of bubbles and let them float in the air. The boy would try to catch them until he drifted off to sleep.
Lin thought to herself. How long can this kid live on this boat? Shouldn't he step on land eventually? But for now, she didn't mind this quietness. Lin pushed the boat a little more gently, preparing for the next day.
Noah started flipping through the old books from the crate. He couldn't read the words, but he knew how to look at the pictures. The pages were filled with strange-looking castles and people. Noah traced the faces of the people in the drawings with his finger.
"What's this?"
Noah asked. Naturally, there was no answer. Lin was lying on her back beneath the boat, staring at the sky. She thought to herself, 'Those are humans, kid. They look just like you.'
Lin felt a bit mischievous. She pulled up a very thin stream of water and recreated the exact shape of the drawing in the book. A castle made of water rose briefly on the boat before collapsing. Noah's eyes went wide, and he started shouting.
"Whoa! Again! Do it again!"
Lin splashed some bubbles as if she found it annoying. But her hands didn't stop. This time, she made a small puppy out of water and had it run around the edge of the boat. Noah was so excited he rolled around inside the boat. Then, the boat tilted sharply.
"Watch it, you idiot! If you fall in, it's really game over!"
Lin stirred up a vortex to balance the boat. Noah, seemingly fearless, stood back up and reached out to catch the water-puppy walking on the surface. Eventually, Lin dissolved the water shape. She figured if she spoiled him too much, he'd just end up with bad manners.
By afternoon, a massive whirlpool appeared in the middle of the sea. Usually, Lin would have avoided it easily, but this time was different. Shiny bits of metal were rising from the center of the swirl. Lin narrowed her eyes and moved closer.
It was the wreckage of a treasure ship that had sunk a long time ago. Lin didn't care about gold or jewels. But she thought there might be something useful for Noah. She dove deep into the water to scavenge.
She spotted a small silver spoon that hadn't rusted and a sturdy leather pouch. Lin snatched them with a jet of water and tossed them into the boat.
"Here, a toy."
Noah picked up the silver spoon and started banging it against the floor of the boat. The sound was quite rhythmic. Noah began humming a strange song to the beat. Lin rocked the boat gently in time with his humming.
The boat had now entered a very deep part of the ocean. The color of the water turned a dark, bruised blue. Lin felt a bit tense. This was a territory where very ancient monsters lived. Lin pushed the boat very quietly and quickly, trying not to wake Noah.
As night fell, Noah fell asleep clutching the silver spoon tight. Lin listened to his steady breathing from under the boat.
"Sleep well, kid. I'll pray that something tastier drifts by tomorrow."
Lin set out again under the moonlight. The sea was still vast, and the boy was growing very slowly.
The next morning, Noah woke up hungry. He had already finished the leftover mango from yesterday. Holding his silver spoon, Noah began banging on the edge of the boat.
"Food! Give me food!"
Lin yawned underwater. 'Do you think I'm your servant?' Even while thinking that, she scanned the area for a school of fish. Just then, a large, stupid-looking brown fish happened to swim by. Lin snatched the fish by its tail with a stream of water and tossed it into the boat.
Flap, flap, flap.
The fish went wild on the floor of the boat. Noah was startled and fell backward. But soon, he gripped his silver spoon tight and approached the fish. He tapped the fish's head with the spoon.
"Is this... food?"
Lin was speechless. 'Yes, that's your breakfast. But can you eat it raw?' Lin fell into deep thought. She couldn't start a fire. If the boat burned, it was over. Instead, Lin decided to use water pressure. She created a sharp blade of water and thinly sliced the fish meat.
Noah watched the process in awe, then picked up a piece of the sliced fish and popped it into his mouth. It tasted salty, like the sea. The kid chewed it up well. Lin found it fascinating. She thought humans really could eat just about anything.
Just then, a massive shadow approached from a distance. At first, Lin thought it was a monster and tensed up. But as it got closer, she saw it was a giant whale. The whale slowly pulled up alongside the boat and spouted water.
Pshhhhhhh!
Noah got soaked, but he laughed, loving it. The whale's giant eye stared intently at Noah inside the boat. Lin warned the whale.
"Hey, big guy. This is my territory, so move along."
Whether the whale understood Lin or was just bored, it started swimming alongside the boat. Thanks to the whale's massive body, the high waves calmed down. Noah pointed at the whale's back and shouted.
"Big fish! I want to ride it!"
"No way, kid. If you get on that, you'll be stranded in the middle of the ocean in a second."
Lin muttered and pushed the boat faster. The whale followed them for a long time before diving into the deep sea and vanishing. Noah stared at the horizon for a while, looking disappointed.
As the sun began to set, Noah picked up his silver spoon again and started scratching a drawing onto the floor of the boat. It was the shape of the whale he saw earlier. Lin looked at the drawing and thought.
'This kid is actually pretty good.'
The boat continued its way south. Lin suddenly wondered when this journey would end. But it didn't matter. As long as she could hear the sound of Noah tapping the boat with his silver spoon, Lin intended to keep rowing.