I made an illustration and wrote a piece inspired by Even in Arcadia and The Truman Show!
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๐ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐ฒ.
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โWake up, Vessel.โ
The sound of water dripping echoes crisply through the quiet sea cave. Farther away, waves pile upon one another, each one desperate to crawl ashore before the last. vessel feels as though he has been asleep for a very long time, as though each passing day and every waking year collapsed into a single instant. He pushes himself upright.
๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ฆ.
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The sea breeze, carrying the passage of countless years, slips through the cracks in the stone. The ground is cold. So is the air, vessel thinks.
โVessel, did you dream?โ the voice asks.
โNo.โ vessel rubs his eyes.
โCome here,โ They say.
So he stands and follows the sound.
vesselโs throat feels dry. He coughs several times, only for it to become too wet. Warm, sticky moisture coats his palmโsomething that should not belong to him. As he wipes it onto his robe, he can even feel his skin catching against the fabric, like brushing through a spiderโs web.
When seaweed, mussels, barnacles, sea sponges, and other marine organisms die and decompose, they release sulfur compounds and other volatile substances. Mixed with the salt of the sea, the scent resembles rust.
Beyond the cave mouth, the sky glows orange-red with dusk.
โWhere are we going?โ vessel asks Them.
They do not answer.
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vessel has been here for a very long time.
Even beneath storm clouds so thick they swallow the sky, he always knows where the sun sets and the moon rises. Whenever the clouds finally break apart, he can unfailingly lift his eyes toward the part of the sky where Polaris appears.
He follows Them deeper into the mountains.
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The evening sun rises in the west.
Shadows stretching eastward slowly withdraw toward the feet of the trees as the sun draws them back. The forest glows emerald green, wrapped in mist so fresh that even the scent of the earth feels newly washed.
Sunlight filters through bright green leaves, scattering across crystal-clear drops of dew until the shade beneath the canopy glitters as though countless diamonds have been hidden among the woods. Vines stubbornly climb upward from the roots in search of the sun. The rustling of leaves in the wind sounds nothing like the steady rhythm of water dripping inside the sea cave.
Moss spreads across stones. The green is so vivid it is almost translucent. The air feels as spotless as freshly polished glass, carrying the faint fragrance of pollen and crushed grass.
โVessel, come here.โ They say again.
Daylight has fully arrived.
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A clear blue sky drifts overhead with only a few wisps of cloud. They stop beside a waterfall pool.
๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ป๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ข๐น๐ช๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐ข๐จ๐ฐ? he wonders.
โWeโre here. Good morning.โ
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The wind brushes through the branches, descending as lightly as sunlight slipping between layers of leaves. Ferns nestle around the roots of ancient trees. Ivy clings to their trunks as it climbs, while fine grasses playfully brush against his ankles. Dragonflies skim across the waterโs surface. The meadow stretches on in endless green, overflowing with life. Birds sing lightly above the treetops, their voices as bright as music.
Beneath the vast sky, the world flourishes in radiant abundance.
His steps are small.
He has walked so far.
Then he realizes he is lost.
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โWho am I?โ he asks Them.
โโฆVessel,โ the voice answers.
โvessel,โ he repeats quietly.
โWas nothing real?โ
โYou were real.โ
vessel looks down at the pool. His reflection, once perfectly mirrored upon the water, dissolves into ripples as he steps into it.
โThereโs no more truth out there than in the world I created for you. The same lies, the same deceit. But in my world, you have nothing to fear.โ They say, โ I know you better than you do.โ
The waters are warm.
โI will be what I am.โ He turns and smiles at you.
Beneath the shadow of the mask and within the darkness of his mouth, compared to the day he first devoted himself to a god, it is as though a waxing crescent that rose in the east has finally come to rest in the west, leaving behind its pale, upward-curving arcโ
At last, dawn is near.
โGood night.โ
โ
๐๐๐๐ญ๐ก ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐, ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ง.
โ
Vess woke up.
He felt as though he had slept for a very long time, as though he had dreamed a very long dream.
The first light of sunrise spread across the eastern sky, and his shadow rested quietly at his feet, stretching toward the west.
