The octopus peers around.
Eggs hang like clusters of grapes in her den.
She did this.
In wonder, she strokes them. 80,000 lives all came from hers.
No longer hungry, she devotes herself to their care, even as pieces of her drift away.
She knows she’s dying, but resolves to see her babies swim off to their own adventures.
Her eyes glaze as the eggs pulse. As they hatch, she remains motionless in her den.
With one final breath, she blows them into ocean waters, wishing them well as she drifts to a place of stars.
