This morning started like most of my quiet beach walks: early light, cool air, and my dog trotting ahead with that constant curiosity that makes even familiar places feel new. The tide was low, the shoreline stretched wide, and everything had that calm, half-awake feeling that makes the ocean seem harmless. At first. We had been walking for maybe twenty minutes when I noticed it near the waterline. It didn’t belong there. From a distance, it looked like a strange, pale mass washed up by the tide. Something soft and translucent, almost glowing faintly against the darker wet sand. I...
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