The Marine Biologist and Curious Octoman; Ink and Book

Chapter 4: Looking For You

[Elias POV]

Day 145.

I’m not crazy.

I’m not hallucinating.

A cecaelia saved me yesterday.

And I owe him a thank you.

The problem: I have no idea where he lives.

I spent the whole morning diving slower than usual. Checking every crevice. Every cave.

“Hello?” I signed with my hands. Old diver signal for _anyone there?_

Just fish. And judgmental parrotfish.

By noon I was back at my research buoy, sitting on the edge with my feet in the water.

Drying my hair. Staring at Reef 7 like it would give me answers.

“Specimen: One curious octopus boy. Location: Unknown. Behavior: Annoyingly handsome and heroic.”

I laughed at myself. Then stopped.

Because what if he thinks I’m scared of him? What if he never comes back?

The thought made my chest feel weird.

I grabbed my clipboard and a new pencil waterproof this time and wrote something big:

*THANK YOU*

I tied it to a rock with string and anchored it near the staghorn patch. Where he stole my first pencil.

“If you can read this,” I whispered to the water, “I’m at Reef 7. Every day at 10AM.”

Then I dove down to work. Pretending I wasn’t checking behind every coral.

[Kael POV - Azure Spire]

I was NOT going out today.

I was being a responsible king.

I was attending a very boring meeting about sea urchin territory disputes.

But my eyes kept drifting to the surface.

To where the human works.

He’s probably terrified of me, I thought. Good. Stay away.

Three hours later I was sneaking past the castle guards.

“Going for air,” I lied.

They believed me. Because kings don’t lie.

I stayed deep. Stayed hidden. Just wanted to see if he was okay.

And there it was.

Tied to a rock. Big block letters.

THANK YOU

Next to it, the human.

Sitting on a rock, writing in his notebook. Looking peaceful. Looking... waiting?

My heart did something stupid.

I drifted closer. 10 meters. 5 meters.

He didn’t notice me.

I could leave. That was the smart thing.

Instead, I picked up a small, smooth piece of pink coral from the sand.

The prettiest one I could find.

I set it on top of his “THANK YOU” sign.

Then bolted.

[Elias POV]

I surfaced for air and came back down 20 minutes later.

The sign was still there.

But now there was something on it.

A piece of pink coral. Perfectly smooth. Like it was chosen on purpose.

I picked it up. It was still a little warm.

Someone had been here.

Someone who read it.

I looked around the blue.

“...Thank you too,” I said quietly.

And for the first time in 145 days, Reef 7 didn’t feel quiet.