I remember that day as if it were yesterday.

It was a scorching summer afternoon, filled with laughter and joy as we played in the sun-soaked sand and cool ocean waves.
After our beach adventure, we decided to make a quick stop at the supermarket to pick up snacks, drinks, and some dinner essentials.
All was going smoothly until we returned to the car to put the things in the trunk, where my father asked me to return the shopping
cart to its respective place.

From the supermarket parking lot, you were able to catch a glimpse of the sea, and as I turned around to take it in, I observed
something that would keep me on edge throughout the day: the color appeared altered. Rather than its usual stunning blue hue,
it was now a deep red, resembling a sea of blood.

For a brief moment, I felt a lump in my throat and found myself unable to move. Fear and doubt rushed through me as a tingling
sensation in my back intensified. With my heart racing, I pushed the shopping cart quickly, hoping it was just my mind playing tricks
on me.

When I returned it, I quickly went to verify that what I had seen previously was real or not. However, the sea displayed its familiar
shade of blue once more as if nothing strange had happened a few seconds ago. Feeling bewildered and struggling to comprehend the situation,
I eagerly told every detail to my parents. They didn't believe me. They brushed off my story, chalking it up to heat-induced hallucinations,
advising me not to dwell on it too much.

That same night, I had a bizzare nightmare: I found myself standing on a deserted beach, surrounded only by the echoing waves and the cries of seagulls.
After wandering around the area for a few moments, an unexpected earthquake jolted the ground beneath my feet. In the far-off distance,
eerie whispers echoed through the air, appearing to originate from the darkening sky above. At the same time, the once clear, blue sea began
to transform into a deep, ominous shade of red as motionless hands began to emerge throughout the water, creating an uncanny and haunting scene.

As I found myself surrounded by a distorted version of a once familiar setting, it felt like the world was on the verge of crumbling down upon me.
In that same moment, a strong unfamiliar force began to take hold of me, pulling me inexorably towards the crimson sea, rendering me completely
helpless to break free from its clutches. The last thing I could remember clearly was the muffled, desperate cries for help, the choking but warm
sensation of blood flowing both inside and outside my own being, and the vast emptiness clouding my vision until I could see nothing but the simple nothingness.

I woke up abruptly and completely agitated. My entire body trembled, drenched in sweat, and it seemed as if my heart could burst out of my chest at any given second.
Tears welled up in my eyes, forming tiny droplets around them. What was all that? What just happened? A whirlwind of questions began to circle incessantly in my head.

The sunlight warming my skin,
the sensation of sand beneath my feet,
the surreal scenary playing out before me,
the blood slowly filling my lungs,
the muffled screams crying into the seemingly endless void,
why did everything feel... so real?

The ocean had consistently evoked a feeling of fear within me. But, ever since that day, it only grew stronger, to the point I couldn't imagine standing near the beach without
starting to hyperventilate uncontrobably, while a feeling of discomfort and a slight pinch in my stomach come together as I repeat to myself over and over again:

What if the ocean could be alive, and at any moment, it could swallow and transport me to its eerie and mysterious depths for the rest of my days?