By Eva Dias Costa in Noted, Unresolved — 19 Sep 2025

Orcas, Tuesday.

The orcas have formed a committee.

The port authority says it's temporary.
The whales disagree.

They've established a perimeter,
clockwise,
with the efficiency of customs officials
who've grown fond of their new regulations.

Tuesday: they capsized the German yacht.
Friday: reviewed the Swedes.
Saturday: the Ibiza catamaran was silenced.
Monday: my application was declined.

The harbourmaster recommends patience.
I suggest he try explaining that
to a boat that costs forty euros daily
just to sit still.

Someone mentions territorial rights.
The sea remembers longer contracts.

A tourist board meeting convenes.
Motion: reclassify the blockade as an attraction.

I receive a letter, whale-delivered
(they've commandeered the postal system):

Your sailing privileges are under review.
Please resubmit in triplicate.

The boat settles lower each day,
protecting her rudder,
developing opinions
about my competence.

By week three,
I’m bringing her flowers
while she sides
with the opposition.

The orcas conduct morning inspections.
Professional.
Methodical.

Particular interest
in steering systems.

One wears what might be reading glasses.
One has developed a signature.

They’ve owned these waters
since before we named them.

Only recently have they discovered
we come apart so interestingly.

The wind is perfect.
The wind has been perfect for days.

The orcas acknowledge this
with the satisfaction
of middle management everywhere.

I consider learning their language.
The course has been postponed indefinitely.

The instructor is still listening
to recordings from 1987,
trying to understand
what started all this.

🗂 Appears in:
→ Noted, Unresolved (for the absurdity of authority)
→ Other Minds (for the question of nonhuman agency)