sea captain

Smoke curls slowly from the pipe, thickening and thinning naturally. The spectral woman subtly shimmers, as if made of drifting particles; her edges breathe in and out. Candle flame flickers; whisky surface trembles faintly.

An elderly sea captain with deeply weathered skin and a long white beard sits at a rough wooden table, wearing a worn tricorn hat and holding a carved wooden pipe. Wisps of smoke curl upward and gradually transform into an ethereal sea spirit — a translucent mermaid formed of mist and light rather than ...