[Contest Entry] The Valley of the New Year
0
Jericho Antares
FAKKU Writer
Foamy white surf pounded against the shoreline, breakers falling to the wet, compacted sand. On the horizon the glowing, tangerine orb called Sol dipped low, casting the sky in an array of pink, purple, orange, and red.
Cast against this tapestry were three figures, stark black silhouettes against the colorful world. They looked out to the ocean before them without moving.
"Where now?" One of the figures asked, finally stirring. His hand slipped into his jacket, withdrawing a pocket watch. The time piece showed the same time it always did: 11:59:59. He put the watch back in the silk confines of the Armani jacket that clung to his skin.
Next to him, the other two finally moved. One a man in a cream-colored blazer and brown corduroy pants, the other a woman in a cocktail dress. Their clothes oozed the same unnecessary quality as the man in black Armani, and made them all seem impeccably out of place.
"Now? Clever." The woman remarked dryly, her fingers twisting her pink hair into curlicues.
"You know what he meant, Momoka," the other man said to the woman, then turned back to the ocean, "I don't know where we can go though, Jerry. Only place is back. Back to the Valley."
Momoka shuddered, her fingers entwining themselves with the man next to her as she mentioned the Valley.
"I won't go back there, Jacob." She whispered. Jacob put his free arm over her shoulders and glanced at Jerry, who bit his lower lip and looked at his watch again.
The display was still inert, and Jerry threw it to the ground in frustration.
"Why?! Why can't we get out?!" He screamed to the sky, to the setting sun that still hadn't moved, to the clouds suspended around it, and to the ocean that stretched into infinity.
Jacob and Momoka cast him a concerned glance, but quickly turned away. They had all had their breakdowns. This was the tried and true way for the others to respond. Jerry dropped to his knees buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking.
"I can't take it. We've been here longer than we can remember. We haven't aged, we haven't starved, we haven't collapsed. Worst of all, though, is that I have gone this whole time looking at this watch and it hasn't ever moved. One fucking second and it defined us." He lamented aloud, the violent surf licking at his slacks.
"Tide?" Jacob's one-word question brought forth a realization in all three of them. Jerry immediately shot to his feet and looked down. Sure enough, the once-dry sand they stood on was beginning to be hit by the surf.
"A tide means gravity."
"Gravity means something's moving in its orbit."
"And that means that time's still passing?" Jerry asked Momoka, who nodded. "So all we have to do is cross an infinite ocean?"
"Maybe it isn't. We can't tell from here." Jacob mused.
"Can't be much worse than here though." Momoka murmured.
"And without a boat?" Jerry challenged them.
"Can't starve, can't freeze, who's to say we can't drown?" Jacob said with a smirk as he strode towards the water, Momoka and Jerry in tow.
The three silhouettes disappeared into the waves, and the footprints they left in the sand were soon overtaken by the tide. Once the shape disappeared under the churning water all remained exactly as it was, as it is, as it always would be.
Here in the Valley of the New Year.
The only monument to the trio's passing, the only change in the world from their stay was a golden pocket watch in the sand. The open display sat still as it had for untold years, until finally a small click, barely audible over the waves, was emitted from its gear-filled internals. All three hands on the clock uniformly ticked onto the twelve, and then kept going as if nothing had happened.
"Happy New Years!" A crowd of people screamed, and Jacob jumped in surprise as his eyes snapped open. Next to him Momoka shared his shocked expression, and all around people in formal dresses and tuxedos smiled as they toasted in the new year.
On the balcony overlooking the garden where Jacob, Momoka, and all the other party-goers a gold pocket watch ticked past twelve o'clock before being closed by its owner's hand. The watch slipped back into a black Armani jacket and a man heaved a sigh of relief as his thumb crawled over the mass of scratches on the back of the watch, the marks indicating a lifetime in a land they had never quite fully been to, but are all too happy to have escaped.
Three people, random souls stretched across the yawning chasm of purgatory. Dancing, hoping, running, and living.
In the Valley of the New Year.
Cast against this tapestry were three figures, stark black silhouettes against the colorful world. They looked out to the ocean before them without moving.
"Where now?" One of the figures asked, finally stirring. His hand slipped into his jacket, withdrawing a pocket watch. The time piece showed the same time it always did: 11:59:59. He put the watch back in the silk confines of the Armani jacket that clung to his skin.
Next to him, the other two finally moved. One a man in a cream-colored blazer and brown corduroy pants, the other a woman in a cocktail dress. Their clothes oozed the same unnecessary quality as the man in black Armani, and made them all seem impeccably out of place.
"Now? Clever." The woman remarked dryly, her fingers twisting her pink hair into curlicues.
"You know what he meant, Momoka," the other man said to the woman, then turned back to the ocean, "I don't know where we can go though, Jerry. Only place is back. Back to the Valley."
Momoka shuddered, her fingers entwining themselves with the man next to her as she mentioned the Valley.
"I won't go back there, Jacob." She whispered. Jacob put his free arm over her shoulders and glanced at Jerry, who bit his lower lip and looked at his watch again.
The display was still inert, and Jerry threw it to the ground in frustration.
"Why?! Why can't we get out?!" He screamed to the sky, to the setting sun that still hadn't moved, to the clouds suspended around it, and to the ocean that stretched into infinity.
Jacob and Momoka cast him a concerned glance, but quickly turned away. They had all had their breakdowns. This was the tried and true way for the others to respond. Jerry dropped to his knees buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking.
"I can't take it. We've been here longer than we can remember. We haven't aged, we haven't starved, we haven't collapsed. Worst of all, though, is that I have gone this whole time looking at this watch and it hasn't ever moved. One fucking second and it defined us." He lamented aloud, the violent surf licking at his slacks.
"Tide?" Jacob's one-word question brought forth a realization in all three of them. Jerry immediately shot to his feet and looked down. Sure enough, the once-dry sand they stood on was beginning to be hit by the surf.
"A tide means gravity."
"Gravity means something's moving in its orbit."
"And that means that time's still passing?" Jerry asked Momoka, who nodded. "So all we have to do is cross an infinite ocean?"
"Maybe it isn't. We can't tell from here." Jacob mused.
"Can't be much worse than here though." Momoka murmured.
"And without a boat?" Jerry challenged them.
"Can't starve, can't freeze, who's to say we can't drown?" Jacob said with a smirk as he strode towards the water, Momoka and Jerry in tow.
The three silhouettes disappeared into the waves, and the footprints they left in the sand were soon overtaken by the tide. Once the shape disappeared under the churning water all remained exactly as it was, as it is, as it always would be.
Here in the Valley of the New Year.
The only monument to the trio's passing, the only change in the world from their stay was a golden pocket watch in the sand. The open display sat still as it had for untold years, until finally a small click, barely audible over the waves, was emitted from its gear-filled internals. All three hands on the clock uniformly ticked onto the twelve, and then kept going as if nothing had happened.
"Happy New Years!" A crowd of people screamed, and Jacob jumped in surprise as his eyes snapped open. Next to him Momoka shared his shocked expression, and all around people in formal dresses and tuxedos smiled as they toasted in the new year.
On the balcony overlooking the garden where Jacob, Momoka, and all the other party-goers a gold pocket watch ticked past twelve o'clock before being closed by its owner's hand. The watch slipped back into a black Armani jacket and a man heaved a sigh of relief as his thumb crawled over the mass of scratches on the back of the watch, the marks indicating a lifetime in a land they had never quite fully been to, but are all too happy to have escaped.
Three people, random souls stretched across the yawning chasm of purgatory. Dancing, hoping, running, and living.
In the Valley of the New Year.
