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| I hope you enjoy stepping into this unexpected blend of science and fantasy as much as I enjoyed writing it. Read it, hear it or see it–your choice!Listen HERE.Watch it HERE. Frozen Time Something curious happened when Samuel dressed for work. On most Mondays, his routine was meticulous: trousers first, followed by a button-up, quarter-zip, or T-shirt, depending on the trends. He tailored all of his clothing with an immaculate fit. He tailored every piece to perfection. The ensemble was completed with his pocket watch—a stark contrast to his otherwise innovative style. Samuel, who prided himself on all things new, made one exception for the watch. It was his father’s, passed down before his death. A relic of another time. That morning, however, was far from typical. A trickle of water slid beneath his door. Samuel tilted his head, intrigued, as the trickle made itself into a sheet, submerging the floor. The water crept over heaps of luxury gadgets and souvenirs he’d once treasured. Alarmed, he stepped outside to investigate. The dilapidated town was flooded. Water streamed in from the coast, consuming streets and homes. It swirled around Samuel’s ankles as he surveyed the chaos. People perched on rooftops to observe debris—mattresses, toasters, even cars—float by as casually as if out for a Sunday drive. Samuel cast about for an explanation, but the truth was that he was more familiar with his espresso maker than any of the townspeople. And then Samuel saw the bodies.Face down and bloated, they drifted among the wreckage. He spotted a man, alive and wading nearby, and seized his wrist. “What in God’s name is happening?” His grip blanched the man’s flesh. Desperate eyes stared back into his. “We’ve ruined the world,” he rasped. “Climate change. The Pine Island Glacier collapsed into the sea.” “That’s nonsense!” Samuel snapped, releasing his arm. “Climate change isn’t real.” The stranger drifted away in search of his family, leaving Samuel alone in the rising tide. He squinted against the glare of the sunlight on the water’s surface. The rising water consumed his trousers. Wading into the street, he caught sight of a child, no older than eight, perched on a nearby roof. “Where’s your family?” he called out.The girl pointed silently to the bodies in the water. Samuel gasped and clambered onto the roof beside her. “If you think this is bad, wait until the Doomsday Glacier breaks free,” she said, her small voice carrying an eerie authority. “It’s the size of Florida and half a mile thick.” Samuel swung his legs over the edge of the roof. “The glaciers again,” he muttered. “It’ll break in two days,” the girl said, hugging her knees. “When it does, this town will be gone. The entire world will be gone.” Abhorred. The floodwaters, the debris, the bodies–they shifted Samuel’s heart. He imagined the flood waters carrying away his designer sneakers, his electric kettle, his tailored trousers. He should have grieved, but the thought was cleansing.He pictured the girl face down in the water and shuddered. “What’s your name?” “Talia,” she replied.He nodded. “I’m Samuel. And I won’t let you die.” Talia frowned. “But holding up the glacier would be like Atlas holding up the heavens.” He smiled grimly. “It’ll be a small penance for the global calamity I helped create.” As the day wore on, ominous clouds rolled in, dark and dense like ink spilled across the horizon. Samuel and Talia huddled together on the roof, pondering the impossible. How does one secure a glacier the size of Florida and half a mile thick? “Think,” Talia urged. “What do we have?” “We have trash in abundance,” Samuel replied thoughtfully. “We have ships in the harbor,” Talia added. Samuel clapped. “And I have my skills as a tailor!” He turned to Talia, determination sharpening his voice. “I have an idea. But if we’re going to survive, we’ll need everyone’s help.” He cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted into the flooded streets. “Our trash is all we have left! Bring it to the sea, and I’ll sew it into a curtain to hold the glacier’s weight!” Samuel waded through the water, repeating the call. Talia followed, despite his protests to stay safe. The neighbors, united by despair, foraged the remains of their discarded lives. They dredged up everything the flood had taken; broken electronics, old bikes, tattered furniture—nothing was too insignificant for their salvation. Samuel commandeered a ship in the harbor, The Blue Marble, captained by a grizzled sailor named Borris. From the bow, he began sewing objects together at once, weaving hope into the mundane. Finished portions of curtain belied a grotesque masterpiece, each discarded item more beautiful in the tapestry than it had ever been on its own. Slowly, the growing fabric draped into the sea. With each yard of growing curtain, they sailed that much closer to the Doomsday Glacier. A fleet of battleships, each hauling a veritable mountain of refuse, joined The Blue Marble. Captain Borris dubbed the curtain, “The Fabric of Hope.” Samuel soon learned that he need not save the world alone. A line of eager workers formed along the deck, each carrying their own grief. Their weathered hands worked tirelessly, weaving away old regrets. As the fleet crawled toward the glacier, the curtain took shape. If not for the leaden sky, brooding with storm clouds, Samuel may not have seen the soft glow coming from The Fabric of Hope. He paused, setting his needle and thread at his side. “It’s beautiful,” he murmured. “Bioluminescence,” Talia replied. “Thousands of tiny creatures teaming up with the wreckage of man to create something brilliant.” Despite their awe, or perhaps in addition to it, the sky opened wide, unleashing torrents of rain as if the heavens were angry with their plight. Samuel clutched his father’s watch through his pocket, grasping it tightly as he secured his purchase on the drenched deck. “Hang on!” Captain Borris bellowed. “We’re almost there!” Samuel felt the icy fingers of the sea lapping at his boots as the ship lurched. Ahead, the Doomsday Glacier loomed, its cold expanse groaning in protest like an old man stretching his bones. The glacier was ready to let go. Its luster reflected their likeness back to them, the good and the bad. Talia squeezed Samuel’s hand, reminding him to sew. He retrieved his needle and thread and set about finishing the curtain. The Blue Marble and its fleet reached the end of the trash. Rows of men, women, and children lined the ships’ railings, heads bent low like worshippers at an icy alter, sewing the last stitches. The Fabric of Hope was complete. They had only to hold it in place. But just as a shard of ice broke free, plunging into the sea with a terrible splash, the curtain began to unravel. A bicycle tire floated loose, followed by a Barbie doll. Spotting a hole in the fabric nearby, he pointed a shivering finger at it. With despair in her eyes, Talia cried out. “We need one last piece to hold it up!” Samuel’s heart broke in two for his young friend. She should be inheriting the world, not watching it crumble. Inheriting… That was it! He climbed the ship’s railing. Talia gasped, her small fingers clutching his wrist. “No, Samuel! Don’t leave me! What are you doing?” He offered her a smile and replied, “The last piece, Talia.” Before she could stop him, Samuel leaped into the frigid water. It gripped him at once like a vice, but he knew what he had to do. A chorus of horrified voices called out from above. With bioluminescence to light the way, he dove under the surface and found the hole. It was small and round, the size of his fist. He could plug the hole with one hand, sacrificing himself to save the world. But Samuel knew his greatest possession—the heirloom pocket watch—was the lynchpin. He pulled the watch from his pocket, the hands now frozen in time. His fingers, stiff from the cold, couldn’t hold on. He watched in horror as it began drifting downward. The glacier let out a terrible groan, echoing the despair in his soul. He took a deep breath and dove, filling the hole with his fist. The sea washed over him, a watery grave. He pictured the glacier breaking free, smashing him against the curtain, with serene confidence in the world’s safety. Just as the air in his lungs stopped being of any use, a current pushed something his way. As if the sea had changed sides in the middle of battle, it delivered the watch back to him. He scrambled madly to secure it, forcing his numb extremities to act. Samuel pounded the watch into place. Then he was on the surface again, pulling blessed oxygen into his lungs. There was still the threat of being smashed by the glacier, but oh, how sweet was the oxygen. As the waves crashed, Talia dangled her little hand overboard and grasped Samuel’s collar. Her hands were soon joined by a dozen more and with a vigorous tug, Samuel was pulled from the sea. “The curtain is holding!” Talia exclaimed. And with that, in dropped the Doomsday Glacier, the size of Florida and half a mile thick. Samuel staggered back, taking in the glistening heirloom amid the amassed rubbish, cradled by their hasty curtain, now the last support holding together the fragile world.The townspeople gathered around him as they made their return voyage. By daybreak, they had made landfall.As the water receded, so did Samuel’s old life. His new friends gathered around him making their own sort of curtain, threads now intertwined. Samuel lost his most valued possession but gained the world. |