Chapter 02 · The shore

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Tideline · The paper theatre

A voice costs everything

The sea gives nothing freely

Every step toward the shore begins with a bargain the body can feel.

A beautiful shape cannot speak

The voice is traded for legs; silence becomes the first wound.

Desire changes the measure of time

Three days become a lifetime when the tide carries someone away.

Love does not rewrite the ending

At dawn, the story leaves the palace and returns to the water.

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