shark wandered around the gallery sort of aimlessly, only looking at each painting for a few seconds.

it wasn't that they didn't like or appreciate art, or anything. they just had more of a connection to animation, and cartoons, and that kind of thing. they could appreciate how beautiful the paintings were, the skill that must have been involved in creating them, but they just felt like they were missing the context, missing whatever it was that compelled people to stop and stare, to really contemplate what they were looking at.

until they did stumble on something that caught their attention, a huge painting of a dark forest, with a shadowy figure staring right at the viewer. the figure was pretty tiny and far away, but you noticed it instantly when you looked at it. there were other details in the darker areas, so vague and hard to see that it felt like it played tricks on your eyes, like you were seeing faces in areas where there wasn't really anything but leaves and rocks and branches. and it was too big to look at the whole thing at once when you were standing near it, so you would catch things in the corner of your eye.

someone else stopped next to them, a little close, and they glanced over at the man.

"it's a very interesting painting, isn't it?" he said, his voice quiet, looking at the painting and not them. "i like this one, too."

they turned back to it. "yeah, it's kinda cool," they said.

"you can almost feel the stare, can't you?"

well, it was true. there was a kind of intensity in it. the eyes were the most detailed part of the figure.

"most people feel uneasy around this painting, even when they don't think about it or understand why. have you noticed how quiet it is over here?"

it was quiet, actually. that might have been part of why they gravitated toward that part of the gallery - they didn't want to be around a bunch of people.

they wondered if it was really just because people were afraid of the painting, though. did it really work like that? it was an interesting idea, at least.

"of course," the man continued, in a low voice, "some people are drawn to it. it's sort of mesmerizing, isn't it? the more you stare, the more lost you become..."

they already understood what he meant and felt it themself, but hearing him say that, while standing a little too close to them, really made it creepier.

"yeah, it's, uh... it's interesting," they said.

"and the way that it's a humanoid figure... it could have been an animal, or a monster... but it's a human being, staring. it evokes a kind of primal fear, even though it's just a person, who's just looking at you... just standing... but it's that ambiguity, isn't it? not knowing their intentions... only knowing that they see you. that they're looking directly at you... that all of their attention... is on you."

shark was still looking at the painting, at the figure in the painting, but they wondered if the man was looking at them now, as he was talking.

"even if your eyes wander... even if you aren't looking directly at the figure... you can still feel the gaze out of the corner of your eye... or, even if it's not in your view at all... you're aware of it. you remember that it's there, as you try to make sense of everything else, as you look around the environment at all of those vague shadows... and as you try to think about what it means. but it's difficult to really think about, isn't it? it's difficult to analyze, while you're staring at it... because you get lost in these feelings... and part of your mind is occupied by those eyes boring into you... all too aware of it... unable to look at the painting... without someone else looking back at you..."

honestly, they did like his analysis, they liked hearing it. he had a nice voice.

it was kind of nice to hear someone else put it into words, because they had trouble articulating it themself. they could feel it, but it was hard to pinpoint exactly what they were feeling.

they realized their heart was pounding.

"i wonder why you were drawn to it?" he said, so lightly, a little closer to their ear. "what makes it so compelling to you?"

they almost shuddered. "it's, uh... i like that it's kind of creepy. reminds me of a dream i had..."

"can you tell me more?"

there was such a surreal, uncanny feeling, such a weird atmosphere. just like the feelings in the painting, but real, surrounding them. the guy standing next to them felt like the embodiment of it, like he really was the figure in the painting, or something.

"it was like... i was walking outside, in some neighborhood, and there was this creepy guy, and it's like, if i even looked at him, i got this weird, overwhelming feeling... like when he looked at me, it was so intense, and almost nightmarish? but i wasn't really completely scared, you know...? not like with an actual nightmare..."

"that's very interesting," he said, talking so slowly. "so, in a way, you liked the feeling?"

"yeah," they said quietly. "i mean, i guess so. i like creepy things..."

"it does feel like you're in a dream, doesn't it?"

the words filled them with a strange, foggy feeling.

"a deep, vivid dream... almost a nightmare... but not quite..."

he was giving them chills. they really felt it.

they couldn't even look at the figure in the painting anymore, feeling that same intensity they felt in that dream. a feeling like they were going to wake up from something. even though they were already awake.

his hand gently touched their shoulder. "i'm very glad i could give you that sort of feeling... thank you for appreciating it... for being open to it. you can enjoy this feeling as long as you'd like."

he started to walk away, and they finally took their eyes off the painting, like they snapped out of it. they looked at him instead, watching as he went to look at another painting.

as much as they'd enjoyed the painting they'd been looking at, as much as they could've kept looking at it, they felt more compelled to go look at whatever he was so interested in. to hear what he had to say about it.