I realised that while both Lerothis and Sariano have for main theme the ocean, they both have a very different relationship toward it.
Lerothis loves the ocean who washed away some of the pain. It’s where he have found some measure of peace when his life fell into ruins, but he wouldn’t have gone if everything had not been broken. His love for the ocean cannot be dissociated from pain. Healing, yes, but more respite than joy.
Sariano loves the ocean, where he went to find himself, and did. It wasn’t healing, because the pain that was before was healed by people, and because the ocean was there before. He did not run from a life inland, he was born on the coastline. The ocean is home, family, and a source of joy.
There’s a reason the last line for Lero is “The sea no longer torment me.”
