🌊 The Night the Water Took It Back
📅 March 7, 2028 (…according to a screen that shouldn’t still work)
Someone was whistling. 🎶
Low. Slow. Familiar.
Roman stopped.
“Not again…” he muttered. 😐
The sound drifted through the broken remains near the Museum of Vancouver. The old tourist information booth still stood—barely. Burnt, hollow, stubborn. 🏚️🔥
Jas glanced at it.
“Place looks like it already knows the ending,” they said. 😏
Ivy Mae gave a small smile.
“Or it’s waiting for someone to remember it.” 🌫️
They turned the corner.
A musician sat on a crate, whistling like he had nowhere else to be. 🎸
Same tune.
Same slow pull.
“It’s called The Night the Water Took It Back,” he said casually. “Wrote it myself.” 😌
Roman raised an eyebrow.
“Everyone writes songs about the end of the world,” he said. “Not everyone gets it right.” 😏
The musician smirked.
“Stick around.” 🎶
Jas was already poking through the wrecked booth. ⚡
“Hey—check this out…”
A flicker. 📺
A screen—somehow still alive.
📅 March 7, 2028
Jas blinked.
“Okay… either this is archival footage…”
“…or we’re having another one of those timeline moments.” 🌀😅
Roman didn’t laugh.
Wind filled the screen. 🌬️
Violent. Wrong.
The camera shook, aimed toward English Bay. 🌊
Lights flickered.
Then—
The barge. 🚢⚠️
Ivy Mae inhaled sharply.
“I remember this…” 😳
Then paused.
“…I think.”
Roman nodded slowly.
“Yeah. Same.” 🤔
On screen—lines snapping 💥
People shouting 😨
The barge drifting… then lunging forward
Unstoppable.
“They already had one break loose before this,” Jas said, half to themselves. “Didn’t they learn anything?” 🙄
Roman shook his head.
“They learned how to ignore it.” 😐
Impact.
The wooden boats near the Vancouver Maritime Museum shattered. 🪵💔
Gone in seconds.
Ivy Mae covered her mouth.
“My family used to go there…” she said softly.
“Picnics at Kitsilano Beach… then walking over to Vanier Park…” 🧺☀️
She shook her head.
“I loved those boats.” 😔
Roman exhaled.
“I used to touch them,” he said. “Like that would make them last longer.” 🕰️
The barge kept moving.
Toward the Burrard Street Bridge. 🌉
Toward everything.
“Wait…” Jas frowned.
“Did this really happen like this?” 🤨
Roman didn’t answer right away.
On screen—chaos.
Boats breaking free 🚤
Sirens swallowed 🚨
People standing still 😶
Then—
Fire. 🔥🔥🔥
At Granville Island Public Market, flames climbed fast.
Too fast.
Jas squinted.
“That’s… dramatic,” they said. “Almost like…”
“…a story.” 👀
Roman finally spoke.
“The city never recovered,” he said quietly.
Ivy Mae looked at him.
“Are you sure?” 😶
He hesitated.
Just a fraction too long. ⏳
The screen flickered. 📺
Smoke swallowing the skyline 🌫️
Fire reflecting on water 🌊🔥
Then—
Black.
Silence.
The musician started playing again. 🎸
Same tune.
“The night the water took it back…” he sang. 🎶
Jas crossed their arms.
“Okay… I’m just saying…” 😏
“…this feels a lot like that newspaper.” 📰😂
Ivy Mae laughed softly.
“Yeah…”
“…like something that shouldn’t be real.” 😌
Roman stared out at the water.
Calm. Innocent. 🌊
“Doesn’t matter,” he said.
They both looked at him.
He gave a small, knowing smile.
“Real enough.” 😏🔥