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Nautilus

August 14, 2021 5 Comments

By Tina Nazerian

‘Nautilus For Sale.’ A decade ago, those words in the classifieds brought us together. My living fossil, your primitive eyes sold me on you. Modest yet deep, watching me unassumingly.

Pinhole eyes, scientists call them. No lens, no cornea. Just a simple hole through which light enters. Each eye is white and fleshy-looking with a dark dot in the center that dips into a faint line. They’re calligraphy.

The nights I can’t sleep, I pull up a chair to your aquarium and watch you float through life, wishing I could see through your uncanny eyes for just a slice of time.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. JK Hayward says

    August 14, 2021 at 2:17 pm

    Interesting piece Tina Nazerian.

    Reply
    • Lexa says

      August 14, 2021 at 7:13 pm

      Oooh, those calligraphy eyes ? ? ??
      ?

      Reply
      • Lexa says

        August 14, 2021 at 7:17 pm

        Okay, so emojis don’t work here…

        I love the detailed dip in the eye. The ocular calligraphy.

        BRAVO (a summary of my enjoyment)

        Lexa

        Reply
  2. nancy liddle says

    August 14, 2021 at 6:23 pm

    beautiful. the image of the fish just floating, teaching stillness and calm acceptance in the depths of a troubled night.

    Reply
  3. Veronique Aglat says

    August 18, 2021 at 10:46 am

    I learned about the nautilus, and I love the nautilus.

    It’s interesting you focus on the eyes and not the Fibonacci shell. It’s an original point of view, and you do it with some skill.

    Wouldn’t the protagonist have more impact on the story if she spent all her time watching the nautilus, hopelessly hypnotized?

    Reply

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