u/TharwinV

I want to publish a story here, what is the minimum of words allowed?

Over the years I learned to recognize the sea, except for that night.

It happened half a century ago.

I was preparing to return home, but time moved too quickly in that area. Within minutes, I could no longer see even my own hands.

Even the moon seemed to have abandoned the sky, like waters that can only sink. The situation was unusual, but I still hadn’t considered all my options.

I turned on the engines and sailed as far as possible. I thought I had reached ordinary waters, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. At some point, voices I didn’t recognize flooded my ears.

I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but they sounded close even though they came from very far away, perhaps from several meters below.

I admit I was tense. I don’t know if it was fear or curiosity, but I needed to go down.

I quickly put on a diving suit and submerged myself.

The water was very cold, almost freezing, yet it was summer. The depth was also abnormal; there were sections that were deep and others where you could stand up, even though it was open sea.

Near the bottom there was a faint light, but I decided not to go any farther, it was too risky.

I returned to the surface.

I don’t know how much time had passed since the anomalies began, but the only thing I saw at the end of that sea was something no human should ever have seen.

The sea was furious. The waves were enormous, the wind could topple a 500‑meter building, yet just a small section remained in total calm, like a thin strip of water.

Fifty years later, I learned that I knew nothing about the sea.

Con los años aprendí a reconocer el mar, excepto esa noche.

Ocurrió hace medio siglo.

Me preparaba para regresar a casa, pero el tiempo avanzaba demasiado rápido en aquella zona. En pocos minutos, ya no era capaz de ver ni siquiera mis manos.

Incluso la luna parecía haber abandonado el cielo, como aguas que solo pueden hundir. La situación era inusual, pero aún no consideraba todas mis opciones.

Encendí los motores, y navegué lo más lejos posible. Pensé que había alcanzado aguas comunes, pero no podía estar más equivocado. En algún punto, voces que no reconocía inundaron mis oídos.

No lograba entender lo que decían, pero se escuchaban cerca aunque venían desde muy lejos, quizás desde varios metros.

Reconozco que estaba tenso. No sé si era miedo o curiosidad, pero necesitaba bajar.

Enseguida me puse un traje de buceo y me sumergí.

El agua estaba muy fría, casi congelada, pero era verano. La profundidad también era anormal, había secciones profundas y otras donde podías levantarte, aunque era mar abierto.

Cerca del fondo se veía una luz tenue, pero decidí no seguir bajando, era demasiado arriesgado.

Regresé a la superficie.

No sé cuánto tiempo ha pasado desde que comenzaron las anomalías, pero lo único que vi al final de este mar, fue algo que ningún humano debió haber visto.

El mar estaba furioso. Las olas eran enormes, el viento podía derribar un edificio de 500 metros, pero tan solo una pequeña sección permanecía en calma total, como una delgada franja de agua.

50 años después, supe que no sabía nada sobre el mar.

Over the years I learned to recognize the sea, except for that night.

It happened half a century ago.

I was preparing to return home, but time moved too quickly in that area. Within minutes, I could no longer see even my own hands.

Even the moon seemed to have abandoned the sky, like waters that can only sink. The situation was unusual, but I still hadn’t considered all my options.

I turned on the engines and sailed as far as possible. I thought I had reached ordinary waters, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. At some point, voices I didn’t recognize flooded my ears.

I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but they sounded close even though they came from very far away, perhaps from several meters below.

I admit I was tense. I don’t know if it was fear or curiosity, but I needed to go down.

I quickly put on a diving suit and submerged myself.

The water was very cold, almost freezing, yet it was summer. The depth was also abnormal; there were sections that were deep and others where you could stand up, even though it was open sea.

Near the bottom there was a faint light, but I decided not to go any farther, it was too risky.

I returned to the surface.

I don’t know how much time had passed since the anomalies began, but the only thing I saw at the end of that sea was something no human should ever have seen.

The sea was furious. The waves were enormous, the wind could topple a 500‑meter building, yet just a small section remained in total calm, like a thin strip of water.

Fifty years later, I learned that I knew nothing about the sea.

Some saw it, but no one remembers buying it. A wooden chair, old and ugly. Most agreed on one thing: it wasn’t as ordinary as it seemed.

Years later, it appeared at a garage sale. A young woman decided to buy it, as she was a collector of antiques. Arriving home, the young woman heard something splintering, but she didn’t pay it any mind.

She went inside and left the chair at the end of the hallway. The next day, the chair remained in its place, but its position was different. Although the strangest thing wasn’t that, on top of it were several garments the young woman didn’t recognize.

She was already beginning to doubt the chair. She went to her room and researched its origin, but found nothing about it, only a note:

“If you see it, don’t buy it.”

She knew she wasn’t being paranoid, went downstairs and turned her gaze, the chair was no longer in its place. She searched the entire house, but couldn’t find it.

In an instant, it appeared behind her. She looked back and what she saw left her speechless. The legs of the chair multiplied and stretched like those of a spider.

It lunged at the young woman, forcing her to sit. The chair bends in an impossible way, making the young woman disappear without a trace. Only her clothes remain in the same place, on top of the chair.

No one knows where the victims end up, if they end up anywhere at all. What we do know is that the chair always ends up at the end of the hallway.

Some saw it, but no one remembers buying it. A wooden chair, old and ugly. Most agreed on one thing: it wasn’t as ordinary as it seemed.

Years later, it appeared at a garage sale. A young woman decided to buy it, as she was a collector of antiques. Arriving home, the young woman heard something splintering, but she didn’t pay it any mind.

She went inside and left the chair at the end of the hallway. The next day, the chair remained in its place, but its position was different. Although the strangest thing wasn’t that, on top of it were several garments the young woman didn’t recognize.

She was already beginning to doubt the chair. She went to her room and researched its origin, but found nothing about it, only a note:

“If you see it, don’t buy it.”

She knew she wasn’t being paranoid, went downstairs and turned her gaze, the chair was no longer in its place. She searched the entire house, but couldn’t find it.

In an instant, it appeared behind her. She looked back and what she saw left her speechless. The legs of the chair multiplied and stretched like those of a spider.

It lunged at the young woman, forcing her to sit. The chair bends in an impossible way, making the young woman disappear without a trace. Only her clothes remain in the same place, on top of the chair.

No one knows where the victims end up, if they end up anywhere at all. What we do know is that the chair always ends up at the end of the hallway.