I was near the shore walking through the dunes, barefoot. I came upon a shelter built from driftwood and wreckage of buildings.

it's not like I walked up to the building. it wasn't like a movie and it wasn't like waking life, either

it had a feeling like those ai-generated videos where everything is turning into everything else in an endless zoom of infinite detail.

the movement was like that, a slow forward plunge

the details of objects weren't static they constantly moved and changed, like I was swimming through a painting, but walking, like walking along the bottom of the sea

she welcomed me inside, the Sea Witch -- somehow I knew who she was without introduction -- and offered me tea made from seaweed and dune plants and the mug was warm in my hands.

after, she led me to her bed and we lay together for a while. there was no sexual vibe to it, more like animals curled up together for warmth. I realized suddenly that I had become quite chilled.

numb, the way you notice numbness when it starts to subside.

her appearance, age, the color of her skin were not stable, continuously shading through blues and greens. she was beautiful but somehow always weathered looking regardless of apparent age, now young, now ancient.

finally she spoke. she said "come here I want to show you something"

she held a small device in her hands like a compass or a bird's nest and she said

"you see how 'to dare' and 'to remember' are the same power?"