Children of the Whales #18

Abi Umeda's watercolor artistry is on full display in this eighteenth volume of *Children of the Whales*, where a pale, red-eyed figure crowned in ornate gold gazes out with quiet, unsettling intensity. Cradled in their hands rests a small wooden boat carrying what appears to be a tiny, wounded figure, surrounded by paper cranes and shards of folded paper that scatter across the composition like fragile offerings. It's a hauntingly beautiful image that captures the series' signature blend of melancholy and wonder.