WEBVTT

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The air tasted of salt. old mud. and

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the sharp. electric tang of ozone.

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Cailin pushed his canoe forward. his paddle slipping

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into the dark. still waters with

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hardly a ripple.

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Around him. the world held its breath in

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the quiet hours just before sunrise.

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A thin. ghostly fog hovered above the surface.

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curling lazily around the wooden labyrinth

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that rose from the depths.

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This was the heart of the mangrove swamp

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at dawn. a mystical place where the boundaries

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between land and sea blurred into shadow.

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The sprawling. tangled root networks arched like ancient.

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petrified fingers. plunging

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deep into the black water.

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Every surface caught the pale dawn mist. softening

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the edges of the gnarled trees into silhouettes

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of sleeping giants.

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As the sky above began to blush with

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the cool colors of an autumn morning. the

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swamp woke

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up.

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It didn't happen with birdsong. but with light.

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Faint pulses of blue and emerald began to

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glow along the submerged roots.

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At first. it was just a hesitant flicker.

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like distant stars trapped beneath the water.

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but soon the bioluminescence spread. tracing the intricate.

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woody veins with living neon.

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The glassy water doubled the spectacle. turning the

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swamp into a mirror of cosmos. where

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glowing roots intertwined with reflections of the awakening

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sky.

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Cailin stopped paddling. letting the canoe drift silently

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into the luminous maze.

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He didn't dare disturb the quiet magic.

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For a few fleeting moments. as the fog

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slowly burned away to greet the rising sun.

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he felt

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entirely untethered from the world he knew. suspended

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in a secret dream shared only by

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the ancient trees and the glowing tide.