A diorama sits upon a table where we find Harvey Escher inspecting his creation.
“Let’s make a scene”
The diorama shows a small boat, floating upon a seemingly endless expanse of water.
“A boat sits upon an eternal river, endless, floating only in the direction the current drags it.”
“The ebbs and flows of the river’s current carry that little boat wherever it pleases. It is at the mercy of the waters, pushed and pulled wherever the water allows it.”
Escher takes a skewer, piercing a small hole in the side of the boat.
“Yet, as the boat continues along its endless journey, it begins taking on water.”
“A leak is sprung. You bail out water as the boat travels, scooping it out to keep the boat afloat as water floods into the little boat.”
“As long as you bail, you can keep the leak in check.”
“But stop bailing and the boat will sit lower and lower in the water. The pressure of that water building causes the boat to become unsteady, rocking violently.”
“The leak becomes worse as the pressure builds. Soon, merely bailing out is too much.”
“The boat will sink.”
Escher fills the diorama with water, until the box is filled and the scene displayed is underwater.
“You were once cast upon your endless journey, Tombstone. Ferrying souls back and forth as the endless water of your river ebbs and flows.”
“You once carried out your duties without question. Without thought, you were that little boat that bobbed along eternity’s waters. And everything was right with the world.”
“But you discovered that your boat had been taking on water all along. Your identity hidden even from yourself, to hide the deal you once struck.”
“The hole pierced in your boat by Lamplight, so that you gain everything you ever asked for but lose everything you ever were.”
“Your boat was never watertight, Ferryman. You began taking on water the day you didn’t die. You’ve spent eons sailing a leaky boat, at the mercy of the water. But lately, pressure has been building.”
“The bailing out you have been toiling at for eons now doesn’t seem to be keeping up with the leak.”
“Your ferry is sinking, Ferryman.”
“Yet all of your power cannot bring you the one thing you desire more than anything else in the world.”
“Your identity back.”
Escher looks upon his creation, he eyes lost in a memory.
“You see, Tombstone. You always thought you held the power, but in reality you were nothing but a fool who cut a bad deal.”
“Like so many of my victims, sniveling and groveling as they try to make a deal in exchange for their lives. They’d do anything to not drown.”
“It’d be music to my ears to hear my victims plead if it wasn’t so pathetic. You were no different, just a frail dying man who thought he could find a way out.”
“But deals like yours go against the natural order. You live, you bleed, you die.”
“Keep bailing, Ferryman, eternally… and let’s make a scene.”