The Canvas, Part VI

Riley and Emerson followed the arrow far enough to escape the field of 5-foot tall daisies. Just seeing the horizon was a relief to both of them. The arrow continued for it looked like miles, running parallel to the purple stream that ran through the canvas. At the bank of the purple stream was a beautiful wooden sailboat with animals and patterns carved into the hull. The lilac sail was already rigged and luffing in the warm breeze.

“Look Riley, a boat! Oh, how I love to sail!” Emerson exclaimed, running towards the river bank. She attached the mainsheet to the painter and hooked the rudder onto the stern. Like a pro, she pushed the sailboat into the water and hopped on, purple water splashing up against the hull. Riley hesitated at first, checked the temperature of the water, and upon feeling its tropical warmness, he rolled his pant legs up and carefully stepped into the cockpit. Within seconds, the boat was slowly moving down the river, the sail tightly full of wind.

Captain Emerson navigated the boat down the stream all the way past the field of daisies and into the horizon. Riley sat on the boat and dropped his feet into the water as they cruised, enjoying the warm water and relaxation.

Soon enough, Riley and Emerson were able to see the mountains in the distance, the technicolor bubbles, and the blue tree that Emerson wanted to climb.

“We’ve arrived!” Emerson said as she unhooked the sail and hopped out of the cockpit. Riley followed her lead as they pulled the boat up to the river bank and stepped onto the cool, green grass. Suspended in the air were dozens of basketball-sized bubbles. Inside of the shiny bubbles, multi-colored liquids swirled and twisted around each other, like magic.

Emerson grabbed a bubble out of the air and looked at it closely. Mesmerized for a few moments, she stood with the bubble in her hand and looked into it as if it were a crystal ball that would tell her the future. However, Emerson did not want to know the future. So she licked the bubble instead.

Suddenly, all of the colors in the world switched: the sky that was once pink turned green, the purple stream turned a bright yellow, and the green grass turned light blue. Emerson was elated! Not only did it morph the world around her, the bubble tasted like a mix between the best fruits and candies in the world. It was a delicious morsel that she had never experienced or imagined, a surreal taste that begged her to have more. “Try some!” She told Riley, who picked up a bubble and sampled it for himself.

“Whoa!” Riley exclaimed as he took another lick and gazed at the world around him. “Does it change the colors for you too?” he asked. Emerson nodded. The two kids sat in the grass until they each finished a bubble. Almost immediately, both of them grabbed another bubble and sat down to have some more.

“Hey, Emerson,” Riley said, licking a bubble and looking behind him, “do you see that huge black spot in the sky?”

Emerson turned around to see almost half the sky covered in black paint, a gaping dark hole that was engulfing their canvas as they spoke. With each lick, the black got bigger and bigger. Emerson threw her bubble as far away as she could and smacked the bubble out of Riley’s hand. Her beautiful world was being taken over by darkness!

“Riley, these bubbles are evil! And it’s all thanks to you, who put that black paint on the canvas to begin with! Now it’s growing uncontrollably, and there’s no way to stop it, you fool!” she exclaimed angrily as she started sprinting towards the blue tree. Riley chased after her, but there was no way he could climb the tree as swiftly as she.

Emerson was already at the top of the tree by the time he got to the trunk. As she sat hugging the top branch, a tear rolled down her face and CLANG! Went the giant clock in the sky. The hands of the clock switched from counterclockwise to clockwise, making Emerson even more upset.

Riley climbed as quickly as he could and finally reached the top of the tree where Emerson was sitting. He grabbed her hand and looked in her eyes.

“Emerson, even though darkness is taking over half of the canvas, there is still that other half that’s beautiful,” he started to explain.

“But it’s ruining everything!”

“That’s not true. It’s only ruining half- and I think it’s stopped growing after we threw the bubbles away. Either way, Emerson, beauty wouldn’t exist without ugliness,” he said, “It only makes the beautiful side look more beautiful.”

Emerson looked around and tried to focus on the beautiful half. The cool grass still oscillated in the wind, the purple stream still flowed with grace, and the field of daisies was still colorful.

“You’re right Riley. Look at what we’ve created!” She said as she took in the breathtaking view from atop one of the highest trees in the canvas. She was so upset about the darkness that she forgot to take a look around, and acknowledge what she truly went up there for. It wasn't to escape, it was to appreciate everything around her. With great emotion, Emerson embraced Riley tightly and squeezed her eyes shut. Her tears of sadness turned into tears of joy as they rolled down her face and dropped onto the tree branches. CLANG! Went the clock.

The two opened their eyes to find themselves embracing not in the tree branches, but in Emerson’s treehouse.