Dum spiro, spero

Tossed about by the raging storm. Like a ship afloat the ocean amidst a raging cyclone, capsizing and letting go of all its contents. As the storm persists, broken into pieces by the mighty ocean waves, the ship is swept into the deep where all the debris rests.

Hopeless! Like the great wrecked-but-masterly-crafted-ship that once set sail off the coasts. Full of life, hope and dreams dreamt by the lives that boarded the ship; every life beaming with hope hinged on the promise that the captain was yet to deliver. In an instant, every life would hold onto this promise with desperate faith in the captain’s abilities to steer them to their promise. But alas, the captain’s strengths are subject to greater powers that cannot be tamed; the fate of every life fade into the deep, never to be seen.

Such was the fate that she met when she least expected it. But here she lay on the seabed like ordinary debris that was washed off by the floods flowing through the wild. She heard whispers that prophesied her fate - she was to end up like debris, to stay on the seabed and only move with the ocean currents. Soon, she would break down into little pieces of debris and eventually vanish into oblivion.

She lay silently hopeless, with only the questions that resonated in her head minute after minute, and day after day. How did she get here? Why did she get here? Who was she before taking the voyage? Who had she become? As she lay still, frozen by the hopelessness that had engulfed her, she remembered herself: she used to be beautiful, she once smiled and was known for her smile; the same smile that had become endangered down in the abyss. She used to be kind; she played and was full of life. She also remembered the dreams and hopes she held on so tightly before taking the voyage. She remembered how beautiful the dream was and how she desperately protected it like every breath she took was dependent on it. 

These thoughts injected a little life into her as the reality of where she used to be and where she was at that moment hit her. Was she debris? Was she even at the bottom of the deep dark ocean? Or, was it all an illusion created in her head the last time she heard screams desperately calling on the captain at the sight of the storm? Or, was the illusion created when she saw the hopeless face of the captain that offered no reassurance during the storm, which then transported sent her into this coma?

As she lay on the seabed, she thought to herself: 

Can I still dream my dream? Will I ever rise from the deep with a hope of floating? Should I even try to propel myself high enough for the ocean currents to take me to shallow waters?

She was no debris! If she was debris then, she was a special kind of debris: the kind that is never forgotten; the kind that gets a new lease on life and gets to smile, play and dream again.
And so she cried:

Oh Lord, preserve my breath long enough for me to weigh a little lighter, to float a little easier, to rise a little higher but enough to touch the ocean currents! For I know I will rise and float and reach the shallow waters. There I will wait for ocean cleaners that round up debris; for the sorters that separate the junk from re-usable debris; and for the artists that search for ocean debris to bring their dreams alive! There I shall be transformed: the dreams I carried as I set ashore, temporarily put on hold by the raging storm, reimagined on the seabed and now intertwined with the artists’ hunger for a new piece that will transform his life. Surely, there will be a crazy artist, crazy enough to see beyond my ruggedness to see the beauty that lies in my core.”

With this hope she felt lighter minute after minute, and day after day. She floated a little easier; rose a little higher; inch by inch until she felt the kiss of the ocean currents. As she soared in the silky waves with all the creatures of the oceans serenading her ascent, she smiled deeply from within and outwardly as she looked forward to get to shallow grounds. There she would meet the ocean cleaners, the sorters and finally, the artist by whom her dreams would come to life. So, she thought to herself:

I hope that the artist will be courageous enough to take us both on another voyage; a beautiful voyage that hopefully leads to a better place than where the captain led me. Whatever the destination, I will live every minute with finesse, armed with the strengths of what was and, the hopes of what can be! Amandla!

As she rode the ocean waves, she was yanked out of her dreams by the ocean cleaners and dumped by the oceanside where the sorters sat separating the re-usable debris from the junk. She screamed in excitement as she was passed from sorter to sorter into the bakkie that would soon transport her to meet the artist. Throughout the journey, she was filled with awe at the remarkable journey she had taken from the coast onto the ship, into the deep, out of the deep and now on a bakkie to meet those that would reawaken her dreams. Her destiny was set: face to face, debris and the artist, each one in awe at the discovery. The artist’s dream would finally be realized with this piece of debris next to him; the debris’ dream to live and flourish again was just setting sail. They screamed in excitement as they both chose each other, with a silent promise to make their dreams come to life; and, to pay so much care and love to curate the ‘perfect dream come true!’

Excerpt from…(Still To Be Determined)