When I came to, I had been unconscious by the shore all night. The villagers dragged me back, but no one dared touch me.
They only said: "You've been seen."
Back in my room, I stood before the mirror—and in my right eye, I saw it: a swirling vortex, the sea itself etched into my pupil.
That night I dreamed of countless eyeballs surfacing from the abyss, staring directly into my soul.
I screamed in the dream: "I only looked once!"
And the sea whispered back:
> "Once… is enough."