The rain poured down in torrents. The sound of boots splashing through the mud was loud and chaotic. The man panted heavily, clutching the baby tight. Wrapped in brown cloth, the child strangely did not cry. Perhaps he instinctively knew that death was closing in.
"There's a boat over there!"
The woman pointed toward the riverbank. An old rowboat, tied loosely to a tree, was tossing on the waves. Behind them, the soldiers of the Jin-Sheng Empire were shouting, gaining ground. The clanking of iron armor filled the woods. There was no time left.
The couple scrambled down to the shore. The man carefully laid the baby on the floor of the boat. The woman squeezed the child's tiny hand once and let go. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she didn't even have time to wipe them away.
"You must live, Noah."
The man gave the boat a powerful shove. It caught the river's current quickly. At that moment, an imperial arrow hissed through the air and buried itself in the man's shoulder. A scream erupted, but the boat was already drifting away. The couple held onto each other, staring at the water. By the time the soldiers reached the bank, the boat had vanished into the darkness.
Something stirred at the bottom of the river. It was the water spirit, Lin, who had been asleep for a very long time. Lin hadn't seen a human in thousands of years. But she felt a small wooden plank passing over her head. And from that plank, she heard a very tiny heartbeat.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Lin became curious. There was no reason for such a warm sound to exist on this cold river. Lin attached her formless body to the bottom of the boat. She began to push it slowly. Not just where the river flowed, but toward a place where the child could be safe.
Inside the boat, Noah opened his eyes. Rain was still falling from the sky, but no water entered the boat. Lin was creating an invisible membrane, bouncing the raindrops away. The boy reached out and waved his hand in the air. A cold drop of water touched his fingertip.
Lin was startled by the warmth vibrating from the child's finger. Human life is truly short and fragile. However, there was a strange strength in the boy's eyes. Lin made a decision. She would watch where this child went and how long he could survive.
The river is wide, and the sea is even further. The boat did not stop; it kept moving forward.
The boat kept rocking. Lin stuck herself tight to the bottom of the hull. The fish saw this sudden spirit and scattered in fear. Lin found it funny. She was just curious about this little brat, that's all.
"Waaa."
Suddenly, the baby made a sound. He looked hungry. Lin panicked. She had no idea what human babies ate. She picked up a shiny pebble from the riverbed and tossed it into the boat. But the baby tried to put it in his mouth and stopped. It was hard and probably tasted terrible.
"Geez, picky, aren't we?"
Lin stirred the waves to rock the boat. It was her version of a lullaby. Surprisingly, the baby quieted down immediately. Noah tapped the side of the boat with his tiny hand. It was as if he knew someone was down there.
The river was longer than expected. The Empire's soldiers were gone now. But in their place, giant rocks poked out of the water. Lin moved busily. She twisted the water currents so the boat wouldn't hit the rocks. Lin grumbled to herself. She couldn't understand why she was going through all this trouble.
Just then, an old man fishing by the riverbank spotted the boat. His eyes were dim, so he couldn't see what was inside.
"Hey! Is anyone there?"
The old man shouted. Lin didn't like that. His voice was too loud. She thought he might wake the baby. Lin reached up from under the water and yanked the old man's fishing line hard. The old man fell backward, and the boat drifted leisurely past him.
As night deepened, the river grew colder. Lin started to worry. The baby's body was shivering. Lin gathered the essence of the water and wrapped it around the boat. She couldn't create actual heat, but she could block the freezing wind.
"Your name was Noah, right?"
Lin whispered, creating bubbles in the water. Of course, the baby didn't answer. He was just sound asleep. Lin listened to Noah's heartbeat from under the boat and thought. She didn't know when this journey would end. Maybe it would take a very long time. But it didn't matter. To Lin, time meant nothing anyway.
The boat finally left the river and reached the mouth of the wide sea. The waves got higher. Lin grew tense. The sea was much rougher and scarier than the river. But Lin didn't run away. Instead, she gripped the boat even tighter.
"Don't worry, kid. I've got you."
The boat moved out into the ocean, catching the moonlight.
Out in the open sea, the waves were pretty fierce. Lin hooked her arm lazily over the bottom of the boat and grumbled. The river water had been well-behaved, but this massive chunk of water had a nasty temper. Every time the boat almost flipped, Lin propped it up with a pillar of water.
"Hey, kid. You awake?"
Noah opened his eyes. I thought he'd be crying from hunger, but the boy was just staring blankly at the sky. Lin poked just her face out above the water. Since her face was made of transparent water, it probably just looked like a rippling wave to the baby.
Just then, a seagull landed on the boat. It perched on the edge and stared intently at Noah. The bird tried to peck at Noah's clothes with its beak. Lin was appalled.
"How dare you."
Lin shot a spray of water and chased the seagull away. The bird took off in a fright, dropping a single feather. Noah reached out his hand to catch it. Seeing those tiny fingers waving in the air was actually pretty funny. Lin smirked and used a ripple to guide the feather right into the child's hand.
But a problem came up. The kid looked starving. His lips were parched. Lin spotted a large coconut floating nearby. It must have drifted from somewhere. Lin thrashed the water and tossed it into the boat.
The problem was, Noah didn't have the strength to crack a coconut. Lin sighed.
"Humans are so high-maintenance."
Lin created a sharp stream of water and shaved off the coconut husk. Then she poked a hole so the clear juice would run out. Instinctively, Noah pressed his mouth to the hole and started sucking. Once his belly was a bit full, the kid seemed to be in a better mood.
The boat kept drifting south. There were no people from the Empire anymore. Only endless water and sky. Lin suddenly wondered. What would this kid say when he grew up? Would he think a water ghost saved him, or a god?
Well, whatever. Lin was just bored. After sleeping for thousands of years, her whole body felt tingly. She figured watching how this tiny living thing changed would be a decent way to kill time.
The day was breaking. The sun began to rise over the horizon. Noah widened his eyes at the sight he was seeing for the first time. Lin swam slowly beneath the boat and muttered.
"We've got a long way to go, kid. Don't fall asleep—keep your eyes open."
The boat didn't stop. And neither did Lin.