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The Bewildered Auk
Random inspiration: bewildered auk
AI-generated painting and story
The story
The auk arrived at 9:15 a.m. for an appointment it did not remember scheduling. It sat on the edge of the chair, feet splayed, feathers slightly ruffled by the air conditioning. The receptionist did not look up from her magazine. A man in a suit coughed into his fist. The auk stared at the clock, which had stopped at 2:47. It considered asking for water but decided against it. Outside, rain slid down the glass in slow, deliberate streaks. The auk remained standing, waiting for someone to explain what an auk was supposed to do in a room like this. Nobody came.
The brief
A single great auk stands upright in a grey waiting room with beige linoleum, facing forward with wide eyes and slightly parted beak. Fluorescent light hums from a ceiling panel, casting a flat glow over plastic chairs and a potted fern in the corner.
The painting and the story were written from this same scene, so the two describe one moment.
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