It's damp. The inside of my mouth is always salty. There's too much water. No matter how much I drink, it all goes into my stomach, filling me to the brim. I can hear sounds. The sound of you crying. The sound of your small feet stepping on the sand. I coughed and wheezed. Even though it felt like my stomach was swelling up from gulping down too much seawater. Was I the sea? Was I a bubble in the ocean? I don't know. All of that was right here. Even though I was the one who had it. The sea spat it out. When I blew out all, all the salty water, I grew this big. My arms got longer, and my legs got longer too. I became able to catch you. I became able to wrap around you, dive into you, and stir you all up. "Hey, Wataru. It's been a while. Did you come from the city?" That's what everyone says. Yeah, that's right. I'm Wataru. That's how I answer when asked. Even though I don't know what a city looks like. Yeah, I came from the city. I can see you. You're walking over there. Even though I've been watching you all this time, you've grown tall. I can still vividly see you crying while holding my hand when you were very small. Why do you look at me and act like a stranger? You're always staring at the same place. The tracks where the trains come and go. A place the waves can't reach. Even though I remember you laughing with your feet dipped in the water. Even though you still remain just as you were inside me. Why do you keep staring only at the other side? I like you. I like you. If I take your hand and put it on my stomach, it's damp, isn't it? I drank a lot of seawater. I drank a lot, and I drank up everything you threw away, everything you left behind, and I made a wish. So I could touch you. So I could look at you from closer up. And yet, why are you angry? Why? The city. I mean the city. The place they say I came from. You want to go there? You want to leave for somewhere far, far away? Why do you hate the sea? This place is good. You're right here. Let's stay together forever. Don't go back.