The voice

I heard her voice, familiar yet distant, but sin was holding me like bosom to a baby, keeping me safe from all that gargle. Pathetic boy, what a sham to drift on! It was just a few drinks, and yet the wandering and hallucinations were endless. If it would all end in a drunken stupor, that would be such a shame. But that was reality, even with the care of a million hearts. The conjurer's trick was to deluge your own concerns in shiraz for the loves. Her voice wasn't one of despair, it was one of indulgence. She had found her audience, as did I, watching over her songs and dance. She recognised me from afar, where I was seated, and she smiled as I watched. It could easily have been years apart since the first time our eyes met, but that was the game. You play it fast when you are dead.

Nature

Was it a jebait? No one really knew. It was just how mother nature does her thing. Some people thrive when venturing out when the sun goes down. However, it was self evident that yours truly was not one of those people given the lack of physique and natural instincts. Many would fall badly, and personally it was inevitable. My energy levels go down more than anyone else during the close of day. It was a no-brainer going back on the cruise and searching for nostalgia was more my thing. The voices were silent now, but my head spun like a top and so I got to the cabin and laid in bed. Sleep, Mister Chase, sleep.

A walkway to heaven

The classes were made in an open space near the end of cruise. Attached to the cruise was a metallic walkway that led into the mountains. Many people were taking long voyages and back, and when the orange lights illuminated the backdrop it was stunning like heaven, and it compelled the adventurer within to just walk towards the nature and explore what's beyond the walkways, which seemed to stretch for miles. However, there was a voice within that held me back firmly, it was the logical one that chastised me on the follies of a short journey into night. Don't you remember the zombies? It did slip my mind, and yet nothing really mattered.

Disjointed

Maybe it is my memory failing me, but at some point her concerns faded into the background whereas I found myself walking down a familiar bricked exposed spiral stairs that led towards the floor below, and in true fashion the doors were designed to look like those of a destroyer, the wheeled handle and all. I pushed against the door and it opened to a room with carpets and yellow light. In front there was a console where a bunch of people were being lectured on. It was a curious sight, more university than a cruise. They were being taught about corporate structures and they felt a docked cruise was a nice way to engage the corporate minds. I was alone.

Fogged

I heard her voice somewhere, saying please Chase, stop what you're doing. Its getting too much. In a fog, I saw her being slightly hysterical, but she cared and that was what surprised me, given the incident in the car park. Not yet in tears, no, not from the tone of her voice, but there was stress building up silently from her gestures. That was comforting, infinitely. I was woke and realised the folly of the game. They had taken away so much from both of us just with the cheap thrills of the expensive machines, she had had enough and went to get a drink. I followed closely, now that the alcohol had been drained from my psyche with the panick in her voice previously. It was only day one.

The Spiral

They offered us drinks if we were to trade in the colour of our skin, or the shirts off our backs. Those looked like incredibly easy choices, but that was their sleight of hand. In the giddiness of the wonders, Sparrow was poised to be as relentless as she could be, if the hold was not firm. She wanted to explore everything, and try anything, and that was her nature. I watched by her side, and in the middle of it all was washed into the frenzy of the smog myself as we entered the casino. It was one of unassuming beauty, peril, and the bright colours were intoxicating. She did small bets, and was easily disappointed. I however was taken to a machine of gadgets, and started making bets bigger than each loss. It was an easy spiral..

Smoke & Mirrors

The casino loomed forward with the cloud of smoke, occupied by heavy smokers and drinkers. We were treated with the circus display in the foyer of the ship, and she was taken to the clowns and pop culture in the main lobby. I wasn't blind to spectacle, but rather deconstructed the big hall in my mind to see how they made such an area seem much bigger than it was. The stairwell spiralled to the top and had the illusion of depth beyond a trickster's paradise. I wanted to see what it was later but she was always my focus. The girl would get hurt by the most innocuous of influences, and there were many reasons to be wary of a cruise, especially for an unwitting couple.

Cruise

When you think of cruises, it may be an impression of pleasure and merry. At that point of time, under headlights, it was indeed one of great promise. As we waltzed towards the arched entrance, it felt like walking on water. The grounds were shifty and the lady smiled sinisterly at how we reacted in shock. Yet it was not one of peril, because we weren't thrown off the pier but rather welcomed in open arms by the crew onto that big cruiseship. As we looked onward, it was one of majestic human defiance in the backdrop of mountains and dark skies. The entertainment was on full display as we crossed the arch. It was a colossal beauty.