How to Keep Sea Urchins

Half-man, half sea urchin. These hard-working yet serene creatures are now living in an aquarium, but it wasn’t always this way. Once, a man worked as a salt harvester in a salt pan by the sea. He was loved by his community for his character, work ethic, and wittiness. One day, he cut his arm while tending the salt. The wound was no bigger than a paper cut. After work, he jumped into the sea to relax and float. He laid there until night came. Suddenly, a sea urchin slowly crawled onto his arm. The man lay still, as motionless as seaweed. An hour later, ten more arrived, their spines brushing gently against his skin. With the waves rocking him like a hammock, the man fell asleep. He woke up with a sunrise. He attempted to rise, but the weight of his back, a strange, new heaviness, kept him in the water. And that is how the story of the first man-urchin began. This painting depicts the Urchin man who opened a secret hospice for injured sea urchins, where they are healed from their wounds. During the healing process, they are reborn, but not into their fully natural form, instead as half-man, half-urchin. Nobody knows where this hospice is, when needed the Urchin man will find you.