dear nautilus

Dear Nautilus,

I'm writing to let you know that I relate to you on a spritual level, the extent that has transcended and crossed the boundaries of our species. It'd be absurd to say this, but I find you more relatable than most of my fellow human beings whose eyes are glued to the phone and are bought into the illusion of getting somewhere. You don't care about getting anywhere at all, though, as you don't swim, you float. And you enjoy that specific location in the ocean in that specific point in time. You don't do, you just be.

Let me take what I said back cause on rare ocassions, you do move. I know fish and other species have the tendency to move forwards, but us, we move backwards. In reality, there is no such thing as "backwards" or "forwards", we just move, and "backwards" and "forwards" are, therefore, subjective observations. Other people say that we move backwards, but we all know that we're moving forwards in our very own way, even when it's literally behind our back.

And I know we're not as popular as the dolphins or other marine animals, and some people don't even know about our existence, but we're fine with that. We're used to being quiet and observant. We may not be out there chasing the trendiest things, because we're timeless. People go around and brag about how smart dolphins are, but your slow way of life alone saved you from mass extinctions: you came before the dinosaurs, and even after the presence of humans, you're still here. That's an achievement in its very own way.

We look weird on the surface, but it's until someone really get to know us do they know what happens on the inside. They may laugh at you for your ancient eyes, but you know that your shell is the definition of aesthetics and beauty. Even when it doesn't match of with the golden ratio completely, we know ourselves.

After all of this, I hope you're more aware of how amazing you are, and I genuinely hope that humans will stop killing you for your shells, cause you and other animals deserve to exist much longer.

I hope I'd be able to dive one day so I can visit you and your many friends near the sea floor. I hope the ocean ecosystem won't collapse before that. I will try to break plastic down in my lil lab using biochemistry knowledge.

See you at 1,800 feet down the sea surface. That day shall come soon.

Dea.