It took Abu Bakr fewer days to reach the village, perhaps because, without the distractions of company, he could focus all his attention on the road ahead. He thought to himself that the journey felt shorter this time, now that his mind was fully engaged with the path, not with idle conversation. Finally, he arrived at the fisherman's house, but despite the year that had passed, everything seemed unchanged, the sea calm and unperturbed.
He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Thinking that the fisherman and the sailors might be out fishing, Abu Bakr decided to wait until evening. Yet the slow hours passed in silence, and when night fell, still no one came. He considered the possibility that they might have moved, but quickly dismissed the thought. "Maybe they left," he mused.
His doubt was confirmed when he met a man in the village, who told him, "The fisherman passed away, some of the sailors left a few months after their arrival, and there's only one person left."
"Where can I find this person?" Abu Bakr asked, his heart sinking.
The man pointed to a newly built house nearby. Abu Bakr thanked him, his heart racing as he walked towards the door. He knocked on it, praying it wouldn't remain shut as the last one had. The door opened to reveal a man with a yellow beard, who stared at Abu Bakr for a moment before pulling him into a warm embrace.
"I knew you would come back. I told them," the shipbuilder exclaimed.
The shipbuilder explained that some of the sailors had wanted to return across the Great Sea, but he had stood in their way, telling them that Abu Bakr would return. The months passed, and fewer and fewer stayed behind, until one day the shipbuilder found himself alone. He could no longer stop them and begged them to leave behind one ship, so that they might sail together once again. They gathered supplies and began their journey back home.
After that night, Abu Bakr disappeared for a time. He spent his days by the ship near the shore, which seemed untouched by the passing year. The shipbuilder had cared for it diligently, and now it was as if no time had passed. Each day, Abu Bakr would sit in silence, watching the dawn.
One morning, Abu Bakr knocked on the shipbuilder's door again. When it opened, he said simply, "We will go back too. Let's get ready."
The shipbuilder nodded, understanding the weight of those words, and replied, "Let's go."