features scrunched into a momentary scowl, annoyed with the stranger’s toying.
“So what was your question?” the stranger asked, clearly enjoying himself as he traced a finger on the water’s surface, posture relaxed. “I’ll try to answer it best I can.”
Keeping a straight face, Sho asked, “Is there a boat I can use to get off this island?”
The stranger chuckled. “That’s interesting… You actually want to leave?”
“Are you going to stop me from leaving?” Sho asked tersely.
This time the stranger burst out laughing. “Oh goodness…” he muttered, wiping at his eyes. “What do you think I am? Some kind of island spirit that collects souls or something?”
“Well…” Sho looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed. “I don’t know much about you…”
“You pirates are such a superstitious bunch,” the stranger remarked with a grin. “Though not for no reason,” he added so softly that it was barely audible.
“What?”
“Why do you want to leave? Are you not comfortable here?” the stranger asked, ignoring Sho’s question.
Sho blinked at him. “I have friends to look for, family waiting for me back home. I need to let them know I’m fine.”
“Family as in… a wife and children?”
“No no,” Sho denied. “Parents. Siblings.”
The stranger hummed. “I see… So very different from the previous ones, you are,” he commented, looking into the distance again. “Your predecessors never wanted to leave. Regardless of whether or not they had people waiting for them.”
“There were others here before me?”
The stranger nodded, lost in his memories.
“What happened to them?”
“Some died of starvation when I stopped feeding them,” the stranger said nonchalantly. “Others got lost in the caves and never made it back.” Before Sho could ask more about them, the stranger said, “Anyway, the short answer to your question is ‘no’.”
“No?” Sho echoed. “So what’s the long answer?”
“Long answer…” The stranger stared at Sho for a moment, contemplating. “Technically, there are boats but…”
“But?”
“They’re either underwater, damaged beyond repair, or if they’re on land, they’re not seaworthy,” the stranger said. “And they’re not on this side of the island.”
“So how do I get to the other side?”
The stranger held up two fingers. “One way is to swim around the island. I don’t recommend this because the waves will crush you against the rocks.”
“And the other way?”
“Through the cave,” the stranger answered dryly. “But I don’t recommend expending the effort to get there anyway.”
“What?” Sho frowned. “Why not?”
“That side…” The stranger’s brows furrowed as his face took on a troubled expression. It gave Sho an odd feeling, seeing such a look on him. “It’s a cave exit, right?”
Sho nodded.
“All there is on that side is a sandbank and rocks. Nothing like wood that you can use to fix the boat.”
The water in the bath sloshed as Sho sat up, thinking intently. “What if I were to bring the materials over through the cave?”
“It’s too long a trek,” the stranger said, shaking his head. “Remember how hard it was to breathe when you were in there?”
Sho narrowed his eyes at the stranger. “You knew I was having a hard time and you didn’t do anything?”
The stranger merely shrugged and continued. “It’s also too dangerous to go deeper into the cave. I’m telling you to stay out for a good reason.”
“What do you mean by ‘too dangerous’?” Sho asked.
“There are… things…”
“Uhhuh,” Sho muttered, unconvinced. “It sounds like you’re trying to make me believe that it’s impossible to leave.”
“I want to leave too,” the stranger stressed suddenly, leaning towards Sho over the edge of the bath. His agitation quickly died off as he sank back. “And I can’t do it without you, without someone transporting me out.”
Sho frowned, confused. “Why not?”
“I can’t fix boats, neither can I steer them,” the stranger explained. “There’s no way for me to get far like this, is there?”
“I guess…” Sho muttered. “I suppose that means you weren’t a sailor or something before you ended up here.”
“Of course not,” the stranger laughed, bringing a hand to cover his smile. “I’ve never even been on a boat.”
“Then how did you end up here?” Sho asked.
The stranger froze as an alarmed expression appeared on his face, looking as if he accidentally let something slip. Masking his emotions with a stony expression, he immediately stood up and turned to leave, coldly saying, “That’s enough for today.”
“Wait!” Sho called after the stranger as he scrambled to get out of the bath. He hastily wrapped his robes around his dripping wet torso and hurried back towards the entrance of the house, hoping that the stranger has not disappeared.
A sudden draft went through the house, chilling Sho’s body and making him sneeze.
“You should dry yourself up before you catch a cold.”
Sho looked up at the open exit where the stranger peeked in at him from the side. “Oh, good, you’re still here,” he muttered before sneezing again.
“Really now, go dry yourself up,” the stranger chastised. “I need you alive and well, not sick or dead.”
“You’ll still be here when I get back?”
“Can’t bear to be alone?”
“I’d… honestly prefer having company.”
The stranger turned and looked at Sho, surprised. He stared for a while as if searching for something on Sho’s face. Eventually, he turned back to face the sea. “I’ll be here.”
Sho smiled in satisfaction, slowly turning back into the house to dry off and change into fresh clothes. He did so quickly, and as Sho headed back to the walkway, now clean and dry, he
