Tirad tries not to look back at Dalia, but ever since they got on the boat, she has been staring at him, even when she soaks herself. The humid weather has made Tirad’s clothes stick to his body. He feels sweaty and moist. He thinks about cooling himself down by soaking himself like Dalia does. But he has to distract himself from the warm weather and from Dalia. He stares at the dark waves that fade into the dim sky and make the horizon seem closer and shorter. He wants to talk to Mart about their mission before they get to Oxan. He has decided to leave behind all their past disputes and look at this trip as a new start for developing a constructive friendship relationship with Mart. But the more he tries to break the silence with Mart, the less he is successful. The blurred horizon seems more interesting than talking to Mart. He won’t move. Perhaps Mart is also thinking about the same thing and that’s why he is staring at the dark sea in front. He is already one-step ahead of Tirad; he hadn’t missed the Circle meeting and the peace treaty was handed to him. Tirad has to fill this gap. He already feels anxious about the meeting with the Oxan chiefs and he has no idea how to speak to the refugees and convince them of leaving the Island. What if they don’t do as they are told? What if there aren’t enough boats to take them back and they ran out of the time set for them by the Circle? All these seem too difficult and time consuming. They have to meet the Oxan chiefs first and then plan an exit strategy, assign boats and send the refugees according to a well-planned schedule. He also has to continue his investigation about the dead pregnant women, send Dalia and Asin to their ship and…the work load is too much for him and he has no idea which one of them would be handled smoothly. His stomach is soaring again. He hasn’t eaten to avoid throwing up on the boat and now he is starving, and both the hunger and the stress makes him feel nauseas. He drinks from the bottle that Lealy gave him before she went to bed. It is water sweetened with rock candy! It’s the most expensive of her medicines that she has given him to prevent sea sickness. His stomach soothes and he thanks Lealy in his heart.

The sudden sound of waves breaking disturbs the silence. Something must have fallen into the water. The boatman, Yuma and Mart rush towards the gunwale. Tirad turns and sees Asin lying down by the buckle of water. Dalia is not there. He turns towards the small crowd of the boat passengers. Dalia has jumped into the sea and she is swimming around the boat. Tirad looks at her fine and powerful motion with wonder. She moves quickly from one place to the next with the smooth movement of her arms and feet. Her bald hair reflects the light of the stars shining in the sky. Dalia, unawares of her audience, playfully dives in and out of the water, turns in all directions and swims away and towards the boat. She looks like a fish freed from the fishing net and thrown back into the water. Her nimble and dancelike movement makes a sound in the water, a melody played by her skin as it touches the waves, piercing it gently to move and turn. Her mastery on the water excites Tirad. It is not an excitement towards the girl, mostly to her naturally beautiful movement in the sea. Although she is unconscious of her masterful swimming, she is aware of her surroundings and won’t get too far from the boat. She swims towards the boat, takes a deep breath and gently slides into the water. Tirad can’t see her anymore. Mart and Yuma also seem a little worried and look around the boat as if they are awaiting a shark to attack them from the sea. But the boatman is cool.