The boat being lighter was a problem. Even if Lin just flicked her tail a little, the boat felt like it was floating up and flying across the water. Noah sat with his butt glued to the floor, scratching at the yellow gold trim with his fingernails.
"This really won't come off."
Noah huffed and pulled out his silver spoon, tapping the gold trim. Watching from below, Lin let out a sigh. 'That's your lifeline, kid. Do you have any idea how much easier my life is now that the boat is light?' Lin deliberately rocked the boat a bit to stop Noah's meddling.
Just then, strange shadows appeared on the sea. Even though there were no clouds, black shapes were swimming on the surface of the water like fish. Noah narrowed his eyes and followed the shadows.
"Water, look! The shadows are dancing!"
The shadows spun in circles around the boat. Lin felt it instinctively. Those weren't living creatures; they were like memories or lingering traces left behind by someone. One shadow slid up onto the boat and ducked straight into the leather boot Noah had tossed aside earlier.
Noah jumped in surprise and grabbed the boot.
"Huh? The boot is moving!"
The boot started hopping around the boat like a live mouse. Noah went around laughing, trying to catch it. Lin was flabbergasted. 'A shadow went into the boot? What kind of weird power is that?' Worried it might be dangerous, Lin shot up a spray of bubbles to block the boot's path.
The boot hit the bubbles and stopped. At that moment, something like black smoke leaked out of the boot and dived into Noah's mirror. Behind Noah's reflection in the glass, the face of a strange old man appeared for a split second before vanishing.
Noah stared intently at the mirror.
"I think I just saw a grandpa. Water, is that your grandpa?"
Lin was so offended she burst a big bubble. 'Why would my grandpa be in there! I'm a spirit!' Lin shook the bottom of the boat violently to chase the shadow out of the mirror.
The shadows soon fled far across the sea. However, Noah's boat was no longer the old wooden vessel it used to be. The golden trim gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight, and a faint warmth from the mysterious shadow remained inside the boat.
Noah hugged the mirror to his chest and lay down in the corner. The boy seemed more amused than scared now. Lin pushed the boat slowly and thought to herself. She didn't know where this boat was drifting, but at least it wouldn't be boring.
Before falling asleep, Noah lightly tapped the floor of the boat with his silver spoon. Tap, tap, tap. Lin created ripples in time with the sound.
Noah sat on the pile of paper, flipping through pages. The boot had already climbed to the very top of the book mountain and was hopping around. Lin gently pulled at the water from behind to make sure the boat didn't get wedged too deeply into the paper island.
"Hey, don't take all day. If the paper gets soaked, the whole thing will collapse."
Lin muttered, but Noah didn't seem to hear a word. He found a thick book with a blue cover. Unlike the other books, this one had no pictures on the front. Instead, a single gold line was drawn down the middle.
When Noah opened the book, hundreds of paper airplanes suddenly burst out from within the pages.
"Whoa! Birds! Paper birds!"
Noah waved his arms, trying to catch the paper planes. They circled the boat and landed softly on his head. Curious, Lin extended a stream of water to touch one. The moment she touched it, the plane turned back into a single page and fell into the sea.
"Tch, it was a fake."
Lin spat out bubbles in disappointment. But then, a voice came from the blue book Noah was holding. It was a very tiny, thin voice.
"Hey kid, you're holding it upside down."
Noah was so startled he nearly dropped the book. He looked around, but there was no one on the boat. Lin widened her eyes too. Even as a spirit, she hadn't sensed anyone.
"Who's there? Water, did you say that?"
Noah asked, looking into the water. Lin felt wronged. She could make sounds, but her voice wasn't that scratchy. Then the pages fluttered again, and the voice spoke.
"It's me, me. The book you're holding."
Noah carefully lifted the book again.
"A book can talk? Do you have any food?"
The book went silent for a long time after Noah's question. It was probably stunned. Lin took that chance to pull the boat a little further away from the book island. The boot hopped back into the boat and settled next to Noah. Even the shadow boot seemed curious about this strange book, twitching its toe.
"I don't have food, but I have plenty of interesting things. That stone in the corner—it's very precious."
The book pointed out the black stone Noah had scavenged. Noah picked up the stone that had been rolling around the floor.
"This? This is just a rock that doesn't sparkle."
"That's because you don't know how to use it yet. Read this book carefully later. Oh, wait, you can't read, can you?"
The book made a sound like it was scoffing. Lin hated the sound, so she used a jet of water to slam the book shut. Noah hugged the book tight and grinned.
"Doesn't matter. I can tell everything from the pictures!"
Noah gathered the book, the stone, and the boots and sat in the center of the boat. The boat looked cramped now, packed with all his things. Lin began to push the boat again. The paper island was slowly fading into the distance.
The inside of the boat was a mess now. Noah placed the book on his lap and set the black stone on top of it. The book grumbled for a long while, clearly upset about the water splash from earlier.
"Hey, be careful! If my paper gets soaked, I'm a goner!"
Noah pressed down on the pages with his finger.
"Hey, Book. Why is this stone so precious? It's just a rock."
The book fluttered its pages again and answered.
"That stone is a fragment of the Sea's Heart. If you keep it on the floor of the boat, it protects it from breaking. Do you know why that cave collapsed? It's because you took this out."
Lin was shocked to hear that from underwater. 'A fragment of the Heart? No wonder the boat felt so sturdy.' Lin felt the bottom of the boat surreptitiously. Indeed, the wooden planks felt smooth and hard, like living skin.
Noah took the stone and started rubbing it against different parts of the boat.
"Then can I build a house with this stone?"
"A house? You're on a boat right now. Just focus on keeping the boat safe."
The book shut its mouth again. Noah, getting bored, tried to put the boots on once more. This time, the shadow boots didn't run away; they quietly accepted Noah's feet. As Noah stood up and walked around the boat, blue light lingered behind like footprints on the floor.
"Whoa! My feet are on fire!"
Noah ran around the boat with a heavy thud, full of excitement. Lin's head started to ache. It was great that the boat was lighter, but Noah had become far too hyper. Lin sent a jet of water up and tapped Noah on the rear.
"Sit down, you brat! You'll flip the boat!"
Noah rubbed his backside and sat back down. Then he noticed the gold trim on the side of the boat. The line formed by the hardened yellow water now wrapped around the entire vessel. Noah traced the gold line with his finger and muttered.
"I wish this was real gold. Then I could buy so many yummy things."
Lin found herself laughing. What was the use of gold in the middle of the ocean? Lin pushed the boat even harder. The ripples sparkled as they hit the gold trim.
Just then, a strange sound echoed from afar once more. This time, it wasn't a mechanical noise, but the sound of singing. It was a grand song, as if many people were singing at once. Noah tilted his head.
"Water, someone is singing over there. I think they're coming toward us."
Lin tensed and dove deeper into the water. As the singing grew louder, the sea fog thickened again. Large sails began to appear through the mist. They weren't ghost ships. They were massive merchant ships decorated with colorful flags.
Noah, looking happy, hurriedly waved his silver spoon.
"Hey! Over here! There's a person here!"
Lin wanted to shut Noah's mouth. Humans are dangerous. Especially humans on ships that big. Lin tried to turn the boat, but one of the merchant ships had already spotted Noah's small golden boat and was heading their way.
A booming voice called out from the deck.
"Hey! You there, kid! What are you doing out here all alone?"
Noah held up the mirror and aimed it at the merchant ship. The reflected light hit the ship's deck. People shouted, blinded by the glare. Lin gripped the bottom of the boat tight. If anything happened, she planned to drag the boat straight down into the depths of the sea to hide.