A promise and a dream
“A sailor once told me ‘never set out to sea.’ ‘The waters of Havarros be dangerous’ he said, ‘the pirates outrank the very monsters sent by God to stop our curiosity.’”
“But why would God not want us to explore the world he made? And who might man be to sit idly by with a planet full of the unknown right beside them?” Jason picked a lovely, yellow flower and threw it to the calm yet powerful wind while he smiled to himself. He watched it float away with the salty ocean breeze and become one with the lost shanties that travellers once sang. “Look, that flower got carried so far by the wind alone, truly a sign of natures encouragement; surely a tell that ships too can escape the wrath of Neptune’s army?!
“Setting off in the world we live in as anything other than beast or pirate is to make the statement: ‘I shall bring all people together.’ It’s peace or war out there, and both the aforementioned parties refuse the former option.”
“I see it obvious that I strive to preach this message. As doing anything other than, would make me no better than beast or pirate.”
“Exactly. And just as the coexistence of God and Neptune in myth is a conflict, those who dare to live in unity are struck down; such is the hypocrisy of mans journey towards the horizon.” I sat and picked an amethyst coloured flower, just as Jason did, and I too chucked it to natures fate as one would with caution. It flew over the cliff top we were sat upon in mock of his but merely returned with a twisty spasm of green and purple until it floated rather quickly down to the grass before us. “You see, fortune favours the bold, or rather, the ignorant. Where you would stand proudly in spite of divine law, I would not follow. For I am a coward cursed with knowledge and awareness.” I paused to consider. Consider whether he would listen, and what was best for all. “But I see…the world needs you, Jason. It needs you to change it and unite humanity as equals by adding colour to our black and white perceptions.”
I smiled a faux expression that day as I encouraged my best friend to part with me and venture wherever curiosity took him; his dream of change as a reckless guide. Even still, his proud voice repeats itself in my mind daily as a haunting constant; ‘I’ll go out to sea and make friends with the pirates. People are people, right?’ is what he would say. Oh how it made me frown inside, the knowledge that he’d set off any moment now to places I would never go, in spite of my warnings. ‘The monsters too!’ he would always smile and proclaim. ‘I’ll show the world that all are in need of love!’ Still, I believed, the only thing that could come of it is a precious soul discarded to the realm of death and the following sorrow in my heart. So why was I encouraging him?
And yet, he proved my paranoia to be just as it is that day: nothing more than anxious worries. He proved that if any one man could do it, it’s Jason Lock. For he turned my fake smile true with that unnatural power he had: painting the blank canvas of my soul with the brightest rainbow of his and changing my perception of all.
“The world can wait,” the boy grinned while looking away from me. He’d now gone red-faced with an embarrassing blush. My realisation of what he was saying came soon after and tinted my cheeks, also, as he confessed. “After all, Oscar Pierce needs me more.” He brushed is soft fingers through my blonde hair and placed that same purple flower behind my ear. His nervous smile said it all: the untold love that brewed for years between us was finally spilling out. And although the current event of spontaneous confession all ended quicker than either of us would’ve liked, it remained vividly in my memory as a happy constant. “Leaving you behind isn’t an option, as my world may as well remain greyscale without you. So now is a better time than any to ask you to join me. Not as crewmates on a lost quest to find ourselves, but as lovers on a journey to change the world!”
Lost for words I had no other choice but to pull him in and answer with my passion. ‘A thousand times yes’ my lips said as they danced with his, after all, how could I say no to someone who swept me off my feet with such words and the way he put his destiny on hold for me. I took my turn to run my fingers lovingly through hair. With the hand that hadn’t grabbed his shirt, I felt the comfort of his soft, jet black locks.
The contrast betwixt one another often made onlookers smile, for we, as a couple, emitted energy that warmed them and ourselves. Even self-contrast reigned, for his dark hair went surprisingly well with the yellow, sun-like shirts he wore as did my blonde with the dark, purple clothes I often adorned. Aesthetics are important to people, after all, therefore we define ourselves not with labels, but the clothes we proudly wear that suit us best as we are nothing more or less than us: ourselves. As every person should be.
So exactly a year on from that fateful day where two boys became one, and consequently more themselves, Jason and I set off from the port that cliff overlooked and into the unknown. We had nothing more than some water, bread and a sturdy dinghy, lest we forget the overwhelming ambition that pushed us onwards.
For today is more than odysseys dawn; today is the anniversary of romance. The romance of us, and the romance of the promise we made together when we parted from a kiss filled with a lifetime of love: ‘together, we shall brightly paint the blank canvas of all peoples hearts.’
