Chapter 4
The next day, it was the sea angling competition.
I arrived at the beach early with my gear, looking for my boat. From a distance, I saw a scattering of white and yellow medicine boxes floating in the water around my fishing yacht.
It suddenly dawned on me that I hadn’t taken a single one of the pills I got from the hospital.
I let out a bitter laugh, then noticed the entire fishing yacht was shaking unnaturally. As I got closer, the sickening sounds of their tryst from inside the cabin drifted into my ears, carried by the waves.
I took a deep breath, stepped onto the boat to pick up the remaining medicine boxes, and through the cabin window, I met Grant’s gaze.
Grant squinted at me, a taunting smirk on his face, and then deliberately intensified his movements. The fishing yacht rocked even more violently.
Fighting back nausea, I left, returned to the tackle shop, and rented a new fishing yacht.
Just then, I received another message from him:
[This is your punishment. Every time you’re stubborn, I’ll punish you again.]
I scoffed, amused, but I had no time for him. The competition was still two hours away, and I had something important to do.
I arrived at a small, weathered chapel by the sea.
Growing up, before my father went fishing, we always visited a similar shrine to offer prayers. I carried that insulated bottle, knelt, and bowed my head three times, praying that this child’s soul would find peace.
The chapel was quiet. A kind-faced attendant wearing simple robes approached me.
“Hello, ma’am, would you like to buy a blessed charm?”
“Do you have any that bless children?” I asked hesitantly.
Just then, Summer’s laughter drifted in from the doorway. She had red marks on her neck and twisted her body, looking innocent, as she walked up to me:
“Harper, you really are here! I told Grant you fisher-folk loved to come pray at this chapel, but he didn’t believe me! What are you looking at, Harper? What are these?”
The attendant was interrupted and seemed to momentarily forget what I had just asked. He instinctively pulled out two charms:
“This one’s for a harmonious marriage, and this one for fertility and a blessed child. Which would you prefer?”
I fell silent.
Grant’s expression turned playful. He pulled Summer’s hand and walked into the chapel:
“If you don’t appreciate your own blessings, no charm in the world will help you.”
My brow twitched. I suddenly remembered my insulated bottle was still beside the prayer mat.
Sure enough, the next second I heard Grant’s voice: “Harper Vance, are you ditching your crappy insulated bottle?”
Then came a jarring clatter. He kicked the bottle aside with his foot.
But I’d unscrewed the cap, hoping to receive the chapel’s blessing for the seawater inside. With that kick, the seawater spilled onto the ground, not a single drop remaining.
It was like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over my head.
I had planned to go out to sea today and pour the blessed water from the bottle back into the ocean, hoping it would allow the child’s soul to rest. But I hadn’t expected that even this private wish would be denied.