Seasickness, a squashed sunrise

When I was a child, I went to Hokkaido for a children's association event. We traveled to Hokkaido by ship. That was the first and last time I ever rode on a ship.

I got seasick immediately. While the other children were running around playing inside the ship, I was all alone, sleeping the whole time. I felt lonely and sad.

On top of that, I started having a nosebleed along the way. I had heard that you would throw up if you got seasick, but I hadn't heard that you would have blood dripping down. It was just one misfortune after another. For the record, I didn't throw up.

Late at night, even after everyone around me had fallen asleep, I was still awake. That was because I had already slept plenty during the day. The ship kept rocking. With a long, slow rhythm, my body would lift and sink—creak... creak. It felt like a nightmare, and my head was spinning, but eventually, I drifted off into a light sleep.

Early in the morning, I was woken up by an adult. It was to see the sunrise. I think it was around 6:00 AM. When I woke up, I was feeling much better, and I stepped out onto the ship's deck. It was my first time outside in a while, and a cold wind blew through.

All around was nothing but sea. A flat surface with no obstructions whatsoever. The horizon cut a straight line between the sky and the sea. Along that ridgeline, the sky began to gradually turn white. And then,

squish

The sun poked its head out, like a squashed slime. I hadn't known this, but due to light refraction and other factors, the sun looks like it's softly squashed when it first rises.

I was overjoyed. I even forgot that I had been seasick. That’s how fascinating that squashed sun was. I could do without the seasickness, but I do think I would like to see that sunrise from the deck again.