Chapter 3 - Tides of the Past
536 Words
The night breeze carried the scent of salt, the rhythmic sound of waves filling the silence between them. Lin Xian stood at the shoreline, his feet sinking slightly into the damp sand as the tide washed over them. Song Yu remained a step behind, his gaze fixed on the dark horizon.
For a while, neither of them spoke. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence—rather, it felt like the sea itself was speaking in their stead.
Lin Xian suddenly chuckled, breaking the stillness. “You’re not much of a talker, are you?”
Song Yu glanced at him, his expression unreadable. “And you talk enough for both of us.”
Lin Xian grinned. “That’s a polite way of telling me to shut up.”
Song Yu didn’t deny it, merely shifting his gaze back to the waves. Lin Xian followed his line of sight, watching how the water shimmered under the moonlight.
“I used to spend hours just standing by the ocean like this,” Lin Xian mused. “When I was younger, I’d imagine the waves carrying messages from faraway places. It felt like… the sea was alive, whispering secrets only a few could hear.”
Song Yu’s fingers curled slightly at his sides. “And what kind of secrets did you hear?”
Lin Xian tilted his head, as if recalling something distant. “Nothing in words. Just feelings—sadness, longing, sometimes even hope.” He turned toward Song Yu, his expression thoughtful. “What about you? What does the ocean tell you?”
A shadow flickered across Song Yu’s face. He hesitated, then said flatly, “Nothing.”
Lin Xian didn’t press him. He simply let his gaze drift back to the water. “You don’t have to tell me,” he said after a moment. “But I don’t think it’s nothing.”
Song Yu exhaled slowly. The wind tousled his hair, and for the first time that night, he looked truly lost in thought.
After a while, he finally spoke. “The ocean… doesn’t bring messages. It takes them away.”
Lin Xian’s smile faded. He could hear the weight behind those words, the quiet pain they carried.
Song Yu continued, his voice almost too soft to hear. “It doesn’t whisper. It drowns. It erases.”
Lin Xian turned to look at him fully now. Song Yu’s face remained calm, but his eyes—dark, unreadable—reflected something deeper, something unresolved.
“You lost someone, didn’t you?” Lin Xian asked, his voice gentle.
Song Yu stiffened, his jaw tightening.
Lin Xian didn’t expect an answer, nor did he need one. The silence that followed was enough.
Instead, he bent down, scooping up a handful of seawater and letting it slip through his fingers. “Maybe you’re right,” he murmured. “The ocean takes things away. But sometimes, it also brings things back.”
Song Yu’s gaze flickered toward him, something unspoken passing between them.
Neither of them said anything more.
The waves continued to rise and fall, erasing footprints, carrying away echoes of the past. But beneath the surface, something had shifted—just slightly, just enough.
And for now, that was enough.
- Writer
