“That’s what the royal tutor taught me when I was little.”
“He doesn’t even believe that lie himself. The world is very, very large. The ocean has no edge, and holds innumerable islands. Some are smaller than the kingdom, others larger. There are even continents.”
“What are continents?”
“Land that is as vast as the sea. Even on a fast horse, you wouldn’t be able to go from one end to the other after many months.”
“As large as all that?” The princess sighed. Then, abruptly, she asked, “Can you see me?”
“I can only see your eyes. There are stars in them.”
“Then you must be able to see my yearning. I want to ride a sailboat across the sea, and go to faraway places.”
“Impossible. We can never leave the Storyless Kingdom, Princess, never ever…. If you’re afraid of the dark, let’s light the torches.”
“All right.”
The torches were lit. Princess Dewdrop looked at Captain Long-Sail, but noticed that he was looking elsewhere.
“What are you looking at?” the princess asked softly.
“There, Princess—look over there.”
Long-Sail was pointing at a small clump of grass in the sand. A few small droplets glistened in the torchlight on the grass blades.
“Those are called dewdrops,” said Long-Sail.
“Ah, like me. Do they look like me?”
“They do. You’re all beautiful, like crystals.”
“When it’s daytime, they’ll be even prettier in the sun.”
The captain sighed deeply. He did it without making any noise, but the princess felt it.
“What’s wrong?”
“Dewdrops will evaporate and disappear in the sun.”
The princess nodded. Her eyes dimmed. “Then they’re even more like me. If this umbrella closes, I will disappear. I will be the dewdrop in the sun.”
“I will not let you disappear.”
“You and I both know that we cannot get to Tomb Island, and we can’t bring Prince Deep Water back.”
“If so, I’ll just hold the umbrella up for you forever.”
The next time Princess Dewdrop awakened, it was light out. The sea had turned from black to blue, but the princess still thought it looked completely different from pictures she had seen. The vastness that had been hidden by night now lay bare. Under the morning sun, the surface of the sea was completely empty. But in the princess’s imagination, the glutton fish didn’t cause this emptiness; rather, the sea was empty for her, just as her suites in the palace were empty, waiting for her. The yearning she had spoken of to Long-Sail during the night now became more intense. She imagined a white sail belonging to her appearing on the sea, drifting away with the wind until it disappeared.
Auntie Wide now held the umbrella up for her. The captain called for them from the beach ahead. When they came to his side, he pointed to the ocean. “Look, that’s Tomb Island.”
What the princess saw first wasn’t the island, but the giant standing on the island. It was clearly Prince Deep Water. He stood on the island like a lonesome mountain: his skin bronzed by the sun, his muscles rippling and bulging like folds of rock, his hair drifting in the wind like trees near the peak. He looked like Ice Sand, but wasn’t gloomy or dismal; rather, his gaze and expression all gave the viewer the feeling that he was open like the sea. The sun hadn’t completely risen yet, but the giant’s head was already bathed in the golden light, as though he were on fire. He shaded his eyes with a huge hand, and for a moment, the princess thought her gaze met his, and she cried out:
“Big brother! I’m Dewdrop, your little sister! I’m your baby sister Dewdrop! We’re here!”
The giant gave no indication that he heard. His gaze swept past where they stood and moved elsewhere. Then he put his hand down, shook his head thoughtfully, and turned away.
“Why isn’t he paying attention to us?” asked the anxious princess.
“Who would notice three ants in the distance?” The captain turned to Auntie Wide. “I told you Prince Deep Water is a giant.”
“But when I held him he really was just a tiny baby! How did he get so big? But it’s a good thing he’s a giant. No one can stop him. He can punish those evildoers and retrieve the princess’s portrait.”
“We still have to let him know what’s happened first,” said the captain.
“We must go over there! Let’s go to Tomb Island!” The princess clutched at Long-Sail.
“We can’t. In all these years, no one has been able to get on Tomb Island. And no one there can come here.”
“Is there really no way?” Tears escaped the princess’s eyes. “We came here to look for him! You must know what to do.”
Watching the tearful princess, Long-Sail seemed helpless. “I really don’t know of a way. Coming here was the right decision, because you had to get away from the palace—otherwise you’d just be waiting to die. But I knew from the start that we wouldn’t be able to get to Tomb Island. Maybe… we can send him a message by messenger pigeon.”
“Great idea! Let’s go find a messenger pigeon right away.”
