The Last Dawn
Elara walked to the heart of the ship.
The room was bright, the walls of glass clear, the floor of stars glowing. The heart pulsed strongly, its light steady, its beat regular.
She placed her hand on its surface.
It was warm.
“I’m ready,” she whispered.
The heart pulsed.
Are you sure?
“I’m sure.”
Once you do this, you cannot go back.
“I know.”
The ship will become you. You will become the ship. There will be no separation. No end. No rest.
“I know.”
Then why are you doing this?
Elara was silent for a long moment.
“Because I love them. The lost. The passengers. The forgotten. I love them all.”
The heart pulsed.
Then become the heart.
Elara closed her eyes.
She took a deep breath.
She let go.
The light consumed her.
She opened her eyes.
She was everywhere.
The ship. The sea. The sky. The lost.
She could feel them all.
The passengers in their rooms. The doors waiting to be opened. The fog waiting to part.
She was the Morning Star.
The eternal ship.
The hope of the lost.
And the voyage continued.