Field guide No. 493
Whale-shaped void in sardine swarm
Something big was here.
In open blue water, a vast shoal of silver sardines swirls round an empty space in the exact shape of a whale, with no whale in it. They are keeping its place.
Field noteShoals close over a gap in a second. This one holds a whale’s outline open with nothing inside.
Also possible, also breaking physics
Porcini dominoes in the mossMushrooms don’t topple like tiles; they rot where they stand. This row has other plans.
Tidal lagoon of liquid cubesWater takes the shape of what holds it. These blocks hold themselves, in cubes, on open sand.
The ladder harvestWood that was a tree has decided to be one again. Carpentry does not usually reverse.
The last matchSmoke setting solid is chemistry misbehaving. A cube of anything is still a perfectly sound cube.