jean 2020/6/20 (Sat) 01:24:58 #79923120
I used to like nighttime. It was quiet, relaxing, and most of all, unlike daytime, everything seemed unfamiliar, which I found refreshing.
I often went out for a walk at night. The area I lived in was not a unsafe neighborhood, and the sun never shone on me, so I could go a long way in a pleasant mood.
That night I decided to go to the nearby seaside and walk on the sandy beach along the shore. I remember it was one o'clock in the morning. I had been there several times, enjoying the view over the black surface of the sea, illuminated by the moonlight. It was beautiful. I loved going to feel the lapping waves with my feet, and even entering the sea with my clothes still on. Although the clothes would get soaked and heavy, I always felt enlightened by the waves rushing in regardless of my will, as well as by this mysterious sensation that seemed to make me realize, but ultimately fail to fully comprehend, the breadth and depth of the sea. So I went into it.
Something touched my foot and I thought it was a jellyfish, but then it stuck from my heel to my knee and I became uncomfortable as I judged it to be a plastic bag. I'm not a person who is particularly concerned about protecting nature or anything, but I didn't like the fact that something man-made had come to bring me back to reality from my dreamy state of mind. I walked out of the water, thinking about how my amusement had been cut short. I decided to walk around to distract myself from the discomfort and then leave quickly.
After walking for a while, I noticed something white in the surf. I was disgusted because it looked like a piece of trash washed ashore. I had no intention of picking it up because it looked filthy, but I still went to take a look because I was curious about how unusually large it was. It was about my size.
There I saw black and red blobs in a translucent membrane. They were pulsating. I couldn't believe it, so I concluded that it must just be a big plastic bag full of stuff. It must have been the wind that made it appear to be swelling and shrinking so regularly.
I wanted to believe that it was a deep-sea fish. It should never be impossible, since even giant oarfish can be washed up sometimes.
But I couldn't. It had a head and a face. Its face resembled an elderly man's, only its eyes turned toward me. There were red flaps like those of an axolotl on the edge of its chin, which I now think may have been gills, but I'm not certain. I felt like I saw what I wasn't supposed to see, so I left the scene. Walking fast, because I was afraid that if I ran, it might chase me. I just wanted to get away as fast as possible without making a sound. I'm an occult enthusiast, that's why I'm in this community. But it was too sudden. I decided to abandon my plan to walk to the end of the beach and attempted to leave the beach anyhow.
When I stepped off the beach onto the road, I ran into two men; an old man of about 60 who lives in the same town, and a young man who is my neighbor. They both looked surprised to see me suddenly appear, and were about to say something. I didn't listen and started running. They were wearing work clothes similar to janitors. The old guy had a large hook with barbs on it (he hung it over his shoulder). The young guy had a large pair of tongs and a rolled up plastic bag in each hand.
Since that day, I have started to see things that I didn't notice before. Surely you have all had the experience of seeing in books or on TV what you have just learned. In the back of a fish store in the shopping arcade, I saw styrofoam boxes filled with creatures I had never seen before. Occasionally, one would go into the back of the store, talk with the owner for a bit, and then pack them into a black plastic bag. I remembered seeing a boat leaving just before sunset.
On the wind, the smell of rot comes. Raw smell of fish and blood. Even the wind itself began to feel lukewarm.
Actually, I went to the beach only once since then. It was at night. I was pressed to enter the sea.
I used to love to watch the surface of the sea at night. I didn't know. Under the mirrored surface, there was a blackness.
I can't stay in this town anymore. Next, I will move to a town without the sea. It was a nice town with an old-fashioned shopping arcade, quaint but with a good number of people, yet not too many, everyone was kind, and the sea was close by.
Things Overflowing in the Darkness
page revision: 2, last edited: 25 Sep 2024 15:27