His hand traced carefully the page. He wrote the final word in the book, after many days of hard labour. Once done, he finally let the pen drop on the desk, leaning calmly against his chair. He contemplated the book, written with all his knowledge, shared kindly by one. It could be easy to show it to others. The truth could be shared, even if ignored in the end.

All that could be done, indeed.

Jason stood, closing his eyes. The book was taken carefully, with the most treasuring hold. It was then left in a bookshelf, one between many. Knowledge was hidden, but at the same time not. He turned away from it all, a smile on his face.

The lights were turned off, and the door was closed.

————–

 

The night was full of life. It was noisy, bright, and active. The coastal city rose tall by the sea, its grand buildings reflecting colourful lights against the starry black sky. Its streets were crowded by many, the sounds of music and enjoyment echoing in the distance.

It was a big city, commonly frequented by people on vacation. As well, it housed many who lived in it. A person would never be alone in the day, many crowds in which to get lost. In the night, however, there was one place to find solace.

The man took a deep satisfied breath, watching calmly the waves below, from the foundations of a bridge. The beach was vacant; there was no one to disturb him while he enjoyed a calm night. The bridge was parallel to the coast, leading to the streets in the distance. He climbed down and sat below it, knowing he could admire the waters there, without noisy people bothering him.

He expected to be alone, because barely anyone roamed in the nights. The beach had no buildings; it had nothing of interest, completely bare. Other shores allured tourists more. Sadly, he soon found out he would not be alone tonight.

The man blinked, his contemplation perturbed. Laughter echoed above, on the bridge. A silent sigh escaped him, frowning as he saw three figures and a dog walking down onto the sand. He hid more between the pillars, unseen as the three approached the waves. One bounced with laughter as the dog barked, while the other two followed calmly.

“Wasn’t that great?!”

The man between the pillars did not like to hear their voices. They tangled with enjoyment and care.

“It was, but there was too much of a crowd. I could barely hear the music with how loud they were.”

The tallest one sat first, his voice echoing faintly, seeming to show more appreciation for what they saw.

“They were loud, but I can’t blame them. I would have sung along too if I had known the lyrics.”

The girl seemed to turn on her heels, leaning closer to the young man.

“Well, you can learn those songs and sing them for us!”

The brunet had laid down on the sand, his only hand waving them off with a snort.

“The concert’s over, so as much as he would love to, he can’t.”

“Why can’t he?!”

Both boys looked at her, both answering in different ways.

“Duh, Ia? We can’t use phones or radios at home! Remember what happened when you tried to bring a painting?”

“I’m happy to have heard these songs in person, even if I couldn’t memorize them. I’ll sing other songs I know, Iara.”

She crossed her arms, her head rising proudly.

“You will learn these songs! Next time we go to the cay! We will give use to that old stereo of yours, Matt!”

“I thought you wanted to see Ibiza next?”

“Change of plans! It can wait! We have all the time in the world, don’t we?”

“We don’t need to be in my house and use my stereo for him to sing without others bothering us. There is a place called karaoke, like a concert but private and self-made.”

The human at the bridge heard them begin to whisper, the three sitting calmly, talking without hurry. They seemed to be enjoying each other’s company, wanting to be alone like him, gazing at the waves.

He averted his eyes from the trio and their dog, looking again at the distance ahead of him. The three had sat some distance away, far from the bridge. He could not hear what they were saying now; he could barely see their outlines in the dark. He just focused on his own thoughts, for a long while.

It really was a calm night. He was unbothered by the three, he could hear nothing. An hour passed, and the strange lack of noise began to nag him. He heard nothing but the waves, those three were making no sound. After a while, he decided to look where they were. Or more like where they had been.

The man blinked, finding himself completely alone. No one stood or sat on the beach. If his eyes were not human, he would have noticed that they had not walked away into the streets without him noticing. In the distance, there were clothes and small things thrown away. There were no footsteps on the sand that hinted them going back.

He was confused, knowing well when he was alone, always bothered by noise. He would have noticed them going back, they had a dog. It was truly strange, and he tried to ignore it. However, he blinked, seeing something.

His eyes fixed on the gray tail that surfaced in the distant waters. A dolphin would have been an incredible sight on its own in a city like this, but it was not the only thing that moved in the sea. He stared in a trance, seeing a big black tail and fin following the gray one. He would have said it was a killer whale, but they would never roam in these waters. Even more bizarre, he could not describe the next thing he saw in the night. A bronze gleam circled the other two shadows.

There were three figures tangling in the waters, calmly, seeming to be one with the tides. The human questioned himself when a seal broke the surface too. It submerged again when the other shadows did. Those fins sunk, almost brushing against each other.

They went back into the sea, once more, never alone.