60. Questions. Cody writes the last log entry of the fifth section of the book, saying that he wants to talk to his father now that Mo is finally reaching out, but he’s unsure of what to say or how to act around him. He then asks a philosophical question about why we don’t notice ourselves changing as we’re actually in the process of doing so, but only after the fact—days, weeks, months after we initially started to change. Cody says he feels like he’s been asleep his entire life; he wishes he had been more inquisitive before, like Sophie, and wishes that he knew more, but says he doesn’t know how to become someone like that. Cody also says that he’s beginning to see his father in a new light—that he suddenly looks like a total stranger. There’s so much of his father’s history, he realizes, that he doesn’t know.
Cody adds that he’s still not sure how Sophie knows Bompie’sstories, or if they even really are Bompie’s stories. If they are, did he really only ever tell her ones about struggling in the water? If so, then why? He’s worried about what will happen to Sophie when they get to Bompie—he says he’s afraid for her. He concludes his entry by saying that he dreamed Bompie was telling him the story about his father dying—when Cody woke up from the dream, he went looking for his dad. When Cody found his dad sleeping on his bunk, Cody poked him until he awoke. When Mo opened his eyes, Cody said, “Just checking.”
Cody has another philosophical thought here, highlighting how the trip on The Wanderer has changed him deeply. The encounter with The Wave has made him wake up, and he feels like he’s taken his whole life for granted until now. He wants to try and see the world with more curiosity, with more amazement at the things in it, like Sophie does. The Wave has also refreshed his view of his father, who appears as someone new—Cody sees Mo with a new openness. A space has opened for them to rethink and renew their relationship with one another.
Here, Cody is sensing that Sophie’s meeting with Bompie might actually not go all that well. While Sophie idealizes Bompie and seems to have such enthusiasm about meeting him, Cody is worried that Sophie has imagined that she knows Bompie, and that, upon meeting her, Bompie will not know her, and will greatly let her down. Cody’s effort to check on his dad shows that he has a new empathy for his father.