The ocean was a perfect mirror, stretching out without a ripple to the horizon where it met a strange lavender sky. Twin moons—one pure silver, the other pale jade—hung silently in the sky, bathing the desolate world in their soft, unnatural light. There was no wind. No sound, except for the gentle whisper of a small sampan made of pale wood, gliding across the water's surface at a speed dictated by its passenger's will.
On the sampan, Devon was lying down, one hand tucked behind his head as a pillow, the other holding a book with a slightly worn cover. His tall and very muscular body, visible even beneath his tight black shirt, contrasted with the surrounding tranquility. His white robe with a pink inner lining was neatly folded at his side, while the white turban wrapped around his head looked pristine under the light of the twin moons. His eyes, hidden beneath strands of his messy black hair, were fixed on the pages of the book, and a faint, confident smile played on his lips. He seemed so peaceful, so at one with the silence, as if he were part of this forgotten world.
Splash!
A sound broke the perfect silence. Devon didn't move his head, only his eyes flicked slightly from the top of his book. Nothing there. He refocused on his reading, his smile widening slightly.
Splash! This time closer.
With a sigh of mock annoyance, Devon lowered his book slightly. Right next to his sampan, a pair of large, intensely curious blue-green eyes peeked out from the water's surface, staring at him unblinking. Followed by a small, snub nose and a row of sharp, triangular white teeth grinning widely. Wet, bluish-silver hair clung to her pale face.
"Finally, you see me too, Strange Human!" exclaimed the girl, her voice clear and slightly high-pitched. She rested her chin on the edge of the sampan, causing the small boat to rock slightly. A slender, gray dorsal fin trembled slightly behind her, breaking the mirror-like surface of the water.
Devon closed his book, keeping his place with one finger. "Strange Human?" he repeated with amusement. "That's a rather impolite greeting for someone you've just met, Miss..."
"Shia!" the girl interrupted quickly. "My name is Shia! What are you? You're not a fish. You're not a Water Spirit. But you float on the sea like a dry leaf. How strange."
Devon chuckled softly. "I'm just a traveler," he replied, his tone calm and relaxed. "And it's not 'floating,' it's called a boat. A sampan, to be precise."
"Sam-pan?" Shia tilted her head, her large eyes narrowing as she tried to understand the new word. "This wooden thing? Why do you need this thing? Why not just swim?"
"Because my clothes would get wet," Devon replied with simple logic. "And my book too."
Shia's eyes immediately went to the book in Devon's hand. "Book? What's that? Is it tasty?"
"No, it's not for eating," Devon said, holding up his book slightly. "It's for reading. It contains words. Stories."
"Stories?" Shia looked even more confused. "Stories can be heard. Why do you have to look at them on dry tree skin?" Suddenly, with a movement as fast as a barracuda, her small, finned hand shot out and snatched the book from Devon's grasp.
"Hey!"
Shia held the book with both hands, flipping through it with great curiosity, droplets of seawater falling on its worn cover. She brought the book close to her face, sniffed it, then tried to lick a corner of it. "Not tasty," she complained, disappointed.
Devon just sighed, not looking angry at all, more like an older brother dealing with his mischievous younger sibling. "I told you it's not for eating. Give it back, Shia."
Shia ignored him. She opened the book to a random page, staring at the rows of letters she didn't understand with a furrowed brow. Then, her eyes fell on the large title on the front cover. She spelled it out slowly, her voice full of confusion.
"Ho-w To… Un-der-stand… A Wo-man's… He-art… In… Thir-ty… Da-ys?"
She looked up at Devon, her innocent eyes now filled with horror and a hint of disgust. "You… you want to dissect a woman's heart?! For thirty days?! You're a monster, aren't you?!"
Silence enveloped them for a moment, before Devon burst into hearty laughter. A free and deep laugh that echoed across the mirror ocean. "It doesn't work that way, Little Shark Girl," he said between laughs. "It's a book to 'understand' their feelings, not their organs."
"Feelings?" Shia looked even more confused. "Why do feelings need to be studied? If you're hungry, you eat. If you're happy, you swim fast. If you're angry, you bite something. Done. Humans are really complicated."
"That's why I need this book," Devon said, finally managing to gently take his book back from Shia's hands. He dried the wet cover with the edge of his robe.
Shia stared at him with a new look, a mixture of curiosity and caution. "So, you're not going to dissect anyone's heart?"
"Not today," Devon replied with a wry smile.
Shia looked slightly relieved. She leaned back on the edge of the sampan, her dorsal fin moving slowly in the water. "Then, what are you doing here, in the middle of the Mirror Ocean? There's nothing here but silence."
"Sometimes," Devon said, reopening his book to the page he had marked, "nothing is everything you need."
Shia stared at him for a long time, trying to understand the strange logic of a land creature reading a book about women's hearts on a wooden boat in the middle of an endless ocean. She didn't understand at all. But somehow, it felt interesting.
"Alright, Strange Book Human!" she exclaimed suddenly, cheerfully. "I'll keep you company! I'll make sure no stupid flying fish disturb your weird reading time!"
Devon glanced at her from over his book again, one eyebrow raised. "I didn't ask for company."
"I'm not offering, I'm deciding!" Shia retorted with a grin, showing her rows of sharp teeth. "From now on, I'm your bodyguard! In return, you have to tell me all the strange stories from your dry tree skin book!"
Devon could only sigh in resignation, although the amused smile never really left his face. It seemed his quiet and peaceful days had just come to an end. He watched the half-shark girl who was now happily swimming around his sampan, occasionally spouting water like a small dolphin.