“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 grabbed the barely-drunk bottle of rum that he opened the other day and brought it with him. Settling down on the other side of the entryway, Sho put the bottle between him and the stranger and said, “Drink with me.”
The stranger glanced at the bottle out of the corner of his eye and stared for a moment. He then burst out laughing. “You can’t even drink!” he mocked.
“I know,” Sho griped. “But can you?”
Shoulders still quaking from laughter, the stranger looked at the bottle as he replied, “I don’t actually know. I’ve never tried.”
“And you mock me,” Sho grumbled. Taking a quick swig from the bottle, Sho let the liquid warm his insides before holding the bottle by its neck and offering it to the stranger. “Drink,” he muttered.
The stranger’s fingers curled around the bottle tentatively as the wide sleeve of his robes slid down to his elbow, exposing pale luminous skin that seemed to glow under the light of the full moon. The stranger examined the unmarked bottle and sloshed its contents around as he held it up against the moonlight. Taking a cautious whiff of the concoction, the stranger wrinkled his nose and stared at it. Giving Sho a glance, the stranger finally brought the bottle to his lips and drank deeply, swallowing three huge gulps before putting the bottle down.
“You… probably shouldn’t have drunk that much in one go…” Sho muttered, watching the stranger carefully as the alcohol worked its way through his system.
A smile appeared on the stranger’s lips as he leaned back and rested his head against the wall. He chuckled softly and mumbled, “This… feels good.”
“I see you’re enjoying it,” Sho observed, subtly shifting the bottle back towards him. The stranger would probably be pissed with Sho if he had too much and woke up hungover.
“No wonder you seafaring types like drinking so much,” the stranger muttered, now looking at the stars. “It feels so nice… and warm… I wonder what it’s like if I went into the water like this,” he continued as he started to shift towards the edge of the walkway.
“Hey, hey, no,” Sho pulled the stranger back towards him. “I’ve seen enough shipmates walk themselves into the water and drown like that.”
The stranger started giggling as he rolled over. “What a joke, I can’t drown,” he scoffed as if that was the most absurd thing he has ever heard of.
“I don’t care what you think, you’re not going into the water like this,” Sho insisted as he persisted with pulling the stranger in.
With a huff and a resigned smile, the stranger muttered, “Fine, I’ll entertain you.” He sat back up, this time leaning against Sho’s shoulder as he kept his silent gaze fixed on the full moon.
As Sho took another sip from the bottle, the stranger started speaking again. “Y’know, maybe, if you wished hard enough, the sea might bring you that boat you need.”
Sho snorted. “What am I, a three year old?”
“Well, I wished for a companion and you appeared,” the stranger said, his tone aloof.
“Oh,”