Maiden Voyage

A smatter of strange curved patterns colour the pearly white sky with orange and purple hues to form a surreal sunset. Cornflower blue and canary yellow join the mix displayed the unique aesthetic of a long forgotten, undying art. The smooth porcelain landscape curves down into a deep dry wasteland of doom and drought, awaiting the return of the floods to restore it to its once famed glory. Time moves slowly, soundless here as the society at large lies lifeless and depressed, their purpose lost in this now waterless world.

In the neighbouring realm of sunburnt clay and decaying granite, the project begins with urgent anticipation. Once the pieces are shaven and shorn, sliced and sized, the assembly may begin. Every step brings the mighty creator closer to fulfilling their lifelong dream. Finally, after so many fruitless attempts their plans will come to fruition; a technological marvel to defy the odds and protect all people from the oncoming storm.

With careful hands they erect the tawny cylinder mast, affixing it firmly to the boarded base as wide sails of silken card slide into place on either side. Magnificently multi-coloured aluminium, the chosen alloy for this attempt, encases the hardy hull; all cracks covered, all creases smoothed. This time it will work. This masterpiece will be the one. It must. Upon completion, with no room for trial, the metallic warning screech pricks their ears. The time has come.

A sudden, long awaited downpour drowns the lower ground in the land where water once reigned, the celestial porcelain space returning to its desired state. Without hesitation the newborn sailing ship, Shining Destiny, is thrust forth into her maiden voyage, offering safe passage to those the floods have already begun to collect. One by one, people of all kinds, along with their companion creatures of every shape and size, join the crew. Pirates and farmers, dragons, tigers, and unicorn duckies alike all pile in to escape raging torrent below.

The rushing waterfall unleashed by the silver spout deity floods the bath time domain, threatens to overwhelm the gentle inhabitants who call this place home, but rising ever closer to the horizon line, Shining Destiny holds strong. ‘Steady, steady’, the creator prays, hoping beyond hope that the chosen materials would finally hold. The breath catches in their chest, as in one panic-inducing second they watch a series of droplet missiles arc out of the evergrowing ocean and splash across the deck. Unprotected by the aluminium case, this flooring is the weak spot the not so omniscient creator had missed. As it crumbles with the dampness that begins to overwhelm the boarded layer, they worry this will be Shining Destiny’s downfall leading her down the path of so many before with her maiden voyage becoming her last.

Though the water warps the deck beneath passengers’ feet, Shining Destiny finds her balance and maintains her form as the waves raise her up to finally meet the vast horizon. The ship of the season glides through now calmer seas, as a sense of satisfaction builds within the master of creation. With every passing moment the fear of failure subsides, and a smile spreads across the creator’s face as the little breaks caused by Shining Destiny’s successful sailing cause the once textured horizon to bleed. A hypnotic display of spiralling colour extends outward until it touches all ocean edges. The rainbow patterns clash and overlap until at last they become one and the horizon exists no more.

As colour dies and survivors cheer the time has come for time to end. In a swirling vortex that drains the realm, all good things come to an end.

Until tomorrow.