Welcome to Fiction Fridays!
Every couple of weeks, I use AI to generate a new fiction writing prompt inspired by the changes and updates to my digital garden. Today, I present to you the final part of the story Searching in Silence.
This collaboration with machine learning allows for the emergence of intriguing and unexpected ideas I might not have thought of otherwise. The prompts are designed to be open-ended and flexible, allowing me to explore a wide range of themes and genres that are aligned with my interests and experiences. However, it is important to remember that these pieces are fictional.
But there’s more! Alongside each weekly publication, you’ll find a piece of AI-generated art that complements the story. And if you’re eager to dive deeper, don’t forget to explore the updates to my digital garden.
The Prompt
In the solitude of a secluded Caribbean island, a young man awakens to a fragmented memory, a ghostly tether to his past. Amidst the pristine sands and crystal-clear waters, he embarks on a quest of self-discovery, wandering through the enigmatic beauty that surrounds him. As he unravels the island’s secrets, hidden emotions surge forth, entwining with existential questions that haunt his every step. A revelation of profound magnitude awaits, forever reshaping his perception of reality and unveiling the delicate fabric of his existence.
The Story
Words fail to convey what forgetting the world must have meant to him. A single name kept coming up. Seraphina. Spelled over and over again. He wanted to remember her, to return to her. But even if they had loved each other in the captain’s master bedroom, there would come a moment when they would not recognize each other. The last legible words, a cry for sense and rationality to prevail in a world shrouded in fear and confusion: remember to search for her in silence, or you will wake those who do not wish to be found.
The ink came to life, and I saw their fate play out in front of my eyes. They would turn on each other. All of them. The amnesia infested their minds to the point where every instant would disassociate from the next, leaving the host in a state of permanent confusion. Nobody on the ship knew who anyone was. There was no trust, no familiarity. Towers of sand, fleeting connections, collapsing into themselves the moment they were built. Fight or flight. Without memory, the tenants of this ship turned into savage animals, waiting for their prey around every corner. The ship had become a hostile microcosm of barbarism. And in the midst of it all, hidden in one of these rooms, was Seraphina. Remember to search for her in silence, or you will wake those who do not wish to be found.
I saw her, shivering in the depths of the hull. Scared, swimming in an empty ocean. I met her gaze for only a second before everything turned red. She had unleashed a tingle of familiarity that expanded with the pounding of my heart. A moment that wasn’t measurable, controllable, or even describable, for as soon as it pierced the sphere of awareness, it was already gone. She did what she had to do. Like a cornered animal, she took his last breath. But it did not matter. I knew that I would never leave this ship. Her actions had a finality to them that explained the otherworldly nature of the events that brought me here — a captain lost in the one place he used to call home.
The visions receded, the ink returned to the pages, and the sun had started to rise, casting rays of light through the back windows. The rum was empty. And I was where I belonged. I could hear the clashing of waves against the hull. At first, it was just the wooden desk, then the entire room began to vibrate, slowly turning sideways. Ever-growing streams of water broke in through the windows, washing away the journal that held my story.
The ship descended back into the depths of the ocean, and I went along with it. A ghost who finally found his grave. The last thing I remembered was that tingle of familiarity. That sensational comfort as I met her glance for the last time. Memory is a treacherous thing. I built my reality on the foundations of retention, but as the sea took it all, what did it leave? Only a moment. A feeling. A knowing. An instant that would stretch no further than the end of this sentence.
