tuvalu

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<<set $player01 to false>> <<set $player02 to false>> <<set $player03 to false>> <<set $player04 to false>> <<set $player05 to false>> <<set $player06 to false>> <<set $player07 to false>> <<set $player08 to false>> <<set $player09 to false>> <<set $player10 to false>> <<set $player11 to false>> <<set $player12 to false>> <<set $seconds to 300>> <<cacheaudio "divesound" "_assets/sound/bbc_scuba-divi_07028028.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "waves" "_assets/sound/bbc_seaside---_0009056.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "heartbeat-tara" "_assets/sound/heartbeat-tara-v1.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "inhale" "_assets/sound/inhale.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "bell" "_assets/sound/bell-3x.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "birds" "_assets/sound/bbc_new-zealan_07056026.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "talking01" "_assets/sound/wikitongues-betsy-speaking-vures.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "flood01" "_assets/sound/flood-v1.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "breathing" "_assets/sound/breathing.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "murmurs" "_assets/sound/murmurs.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "offering" "_assets/sound/Offering_s2s.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "ritual" "_assets/sound/Ritual_s2s.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "stories" "_assets/sound/Stories_s2s.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "tempest" "_assets/sound/tempest.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "scuba-breath" "_assets/sound/bbc_scuba-divi_07028031.mp3">>

<<audio "scuba-breath" play loop>>\ You shine your flashlight around the cavern. There is an expectant stillness. Your light sweeps along the walls and roof finding dark patches. No coral, not even the remembrances of animals. These don’t look...right to you. Closer now. You reach out and rub a finger along the darkness only to find that it rubs off just a bit. Your light finds the floor and there you see it. Coral, broken and fragmented but clearly coral. It’s black. Covered in the same blackness as the wall. You are alone here. And though nothing much seems to be happening your mind cannot let go of thoughts of fire. You take two samples of the coral and put them into a small woven bag and turn to leave this place. You must bring others here. Sea caverns are dangerous labyrinths where many divers have met their ends. [[You catch a glimpse of a childlike figure that disappears into a tunnel, and you follow.|maze01]] [[A woman's gentle humming beckons you forward.|maze02]] [[In the shadows, a massive tuna slowly drifts behind a rocky wall. You stare into its black eye before swimming after it.|maze03]] <<include "timer">>

You drift through the dark waters and see no sign of the child you swear you saw in the previous chamber. The walls here are pocked with nooks and crannies, and you take care to avoid touching them for fear of disturbing some sharp-toothed eel. As you follow the twists and turns of the tunnel, you somehow hear the thud of footsteps, as though someone is running just up ahead. As though there were no water at all, simply rock and the echo. [[Just beyond a bend in the passage, you hear a child's muffled giggle. This can't be happening, you think. Still, you hurry forward.|maze12-special01]] [[Your flashlight catches a flash of bright red floating up above you in a crevice just large enough for you to fit. You carefully pull yourself up to investigate.|maze05]] [[Something brushes your leg, and you realize it's the end of a long length of yarn. You follow it through a side tunnel.|maze02]] <<include "timer">>

<<audio "talking01" volume 0 fadeto 0.05 loop>>\ You swim a ways deeper into the cave and soon emerge into a small chamber. In the center a large black boulder, smoothed by the rush of current, sits nestled in a bank of white sand. It looks almost soft, like clay. The more you stare at it the more you convince yourself it is not in fact a boulder, but a person. An old woman. She is leaning over a wooden frame, her arms gliding back and forth as she pulls at a long skein of orange yarn. She hums softly to herself, and her lined face beams as a young woman comes up beside her, pressing her cheek against hers. "Tupuna fafine, you've been working all day. Take a break." "Ah, but I'm not yet finished and the sun still shines." She pulls the thread in and out, forming tiny, precise stitches. "You work too hard. Give me a turn at least." The old woman smiles and offers the yarn to her granddaughter. "Okay, show me what you've learned." The younger woman continues where she left off, and your eyes linger on the perfect geometry of the brightly colored star. Something else catches your eyes in the corner of the room and when you turn back to the two women you are once again floating in the chamber beside a boulder. <<link [[The blue-green glow of bioluminescence catches your eye. You swim up into a tunnel lined with it.|maze08-special03]]>><<audio "talking01" fadeout>><</link>> <<link [[Ahead you can make out a strange shape in the darkness. You decide to investigate.|maze04]]>><<audio "talking01" fadeout>><</link>> <<link [[Bubbles rise from beneath you and you swim down into another passage.|maze13-special02]]>><<audio "talking01" fadeout>><</link>> <<include "timer">>

You swim through a passage that narrows as it twists deeper into the cave, taking care not to cut yourself on the sharp rocks. The great tuna sparkles silver at you now and then as your flashlight catches its scales, a small comfort in the darkness. Soon you hear laughter and the crash of waves. The water before you takes on an unmistakable reddish tinge: blood. You are not hurt, but something is. [[You continue towards the laughter in spite of the red waters.|maze07]] [[A rock clatters below you, down into a little channel that looks just big enough for you to squeeze through.|maze01]] [[You grab the edge of an outcrop to catch your breath, and notice a gap behind it that leads to the left.|maze06]] <<include "timer">>

You drift into a wide chamber filled with smooth pillars of rock formations stretching between the ceiling and the ground. It's impossible to fathom that each of these natural sculptures was formed by tiny drops of mineral-infused water over the course of millenia. As you float betwen the rocks they begin to feel as though you're walking through a forest. It is hot and humid and the air comes alive with the sound of wildlife, the buzzing of insects and the cries of strange birds. The air is sweet and earthy from the recent rain, the breathing plants, and the decay of the undergrowth beneath your feet. You notice a little dappled lizard clamber over a large leaf. His tail curls into a spiral above his body and he looks up at you curiously with shiny black eyes as the forest fades away and you once again find yourself in the cave. [[You continue onwards through the pillars.|maze11]] [[You back out of the tight passage and as you turn around you spot the shadow of a giant tuna just as it glides behind a giant boulder. You swim after it.|maze03]] [[You catch a glimpse of a child darting behind one of the rock formations. You follow her.|maze12-special01]] <<include "timer">>

You move slowly and your fingers ache as you pull yourself between the rocks. At times the walls seem to grip your body and bubbles pour from your regulator in thick clouds as you fight back panic. Just when you think you are well and truly stuck, a stone pinning your hip loosens and tumbles down with a clatter, and you haul yourself up and out of the water, into a small chamber with an airpocket. You're startled to find a group of 3 divers kneeling around a tidepool. Their equipment looks well cared for but strange, as though from another time. You call out to them but they do not seem to notice you. One of them is holding a round object, cracked and jagged in places. It is a human skull. The others are gathering bones as well, and carefully packing them into metal cases. "Based on the style of that canoe, I have no doubt these are Lucayan. Can't wait to get this stuff back to the lab." The others murmur their agreement. "Oh yeah. This is like, a once in a lifetime find. Bet we'll finally get some real funding now." Before your eyes they fade away, and you wonder if they were ever there at all. [[While you sit and catch your breath, you hear the muffled giggle of a child coming from a pool of water. Curious, you return to the water and follow the tunnel.|maze01]] [[You slip back into the water, finding an entry into a wide, comfortable passage.|cave-01]] [[A cloud of bubbles envelopes you, floating up from the depths. You swim down to see what caused them.|maze13-special02]] <<include "timer">>

The passage seems to go on forever, the water so red now that it's like swimming through an artery. The laughter you heard rises and falls, punctuated by chatter, and finally you swim upward into a tall cavern. There is something impossible about this place. You know you are still submerged in the dark waters, and yet before you there is a group of men sailing at a fast clip through the ocean on a sleek wooden vessel. They hold sturdy wooden rods at least twice their height and dip them up and down into the water, up and down with the rise and fall of the waves. Tuna fly as if by magic from their hooks over their heads and into the center of the boat. One man sorts through the pile of flopping fish, tossing the small ones back into the sea. You can tell the men have done this thousands of times throughout their lives, and they will do it thousands more. They seem to fade into the distance and you once again find yourself alone in the cave. The blood seems to have dispersed. [[You think you hear a child's muffled giggle coming from a passage that leads up and away. You decide to follow.|maze12-special01]] [[Bubbles rise up from below you, and you go deeper to investigate.|maze13-special02]] [[To the right, you can see some interesting rock formations. You swim over for a closer look.|maze04]] <<include "timer">>

Your mind is swimming with thoughts and theories of what's happening to you. "Narced." You remember the word your cousin used to describe folks who went mad underwater. Saw things. Heard things. You convince yourself that you'll never live this down when the cousins hear about it, but first you have to get back to the boat. As you turn your nose fills with a familiar scent. You try to shake this away too, just some gas tricking your brain. But then you see it. <<if $player01 is true>>Your auntie in the kitchen adding the last bit of spice to her famous coconut crab curry. The best at any wedding or festival.<</if>>\ <<if $player02 is true>>A hot plate of palusami. The spices and taro leaves steaming just in front of your face.<</if>>\ <<if $player03 is true>>Taro leaves cooked in coconut cream with caramelized onions. You prefer this Rukau without the corned beef your older brother would fight for.<</if>>\ <<if $player04 is true>>Your father's rourou soup. Steam rising from the bowl of taro leaves. The only thing you could keep down when you were sick. <</if>>\ <<if $player05 is true>>Just the scent of Fekei makes your mouth water. The hours you'd spend grating pulaka with your friends, and then waiting until you heard the call for dinner. That first taste of coconut cream is always the best. <</if>>\ <<if $player06 is true>>You used to hate Toddy as a child. It was too sweet and hurt your teeth. But when your cousins tricked you into a sip of palm wine with a chaser of that sweet sap, you started to appreciate it just a bit more.<</if>>\ <<if $player07 is true>>Your family made beating the pulaku into a pulp like a game for you. So when it came time to make Tulolo you savored every bite of coconut and corned beef with pleasure.<</if>>\ <<if $player08 is true>>After a long day of work you'd treat yourself to a bowl of coconut pudding. Chia seeds and dried and sweeten coconut flakes are the only way to have it. <</if>>\ <<if $player09 is true>>Coconut Tuna. You could never mistake that smell. The curry, the steamed rice, the chile and coriander. Nothing beats the food of your island.<</if>>\ <<if $player10 is true>>During the holidays when the family came from overseas for the fatales, your mouth would water for the pork they'd bring to grill over the fire.<</if>>\ <<if $player11 is true>>Grilled prawn slathered in a swwet and spicy sauce of soy and fresh chile.<</if>>\ <<if $player12 is true>>Fresh banana. Perfectly ripe just the way you like.<</if>>\ Your stomach growls but as you reach out to take the dish, the vision disappears, leaving only your memories, the faint scent lingering in your nostrils, and your hunger. [[You think you hear someone calling your name.|maze x01]] [[Somehow, the sound of a news anchor echoes from the back of the cage. You follow the sound.|maze06]] [[You turn and notice a narrow crevice, just large enough for you to squeeze through.|maze10]] <<include "timer">>

You pull yourself up into the crevice and pause a moment, holding your breath. Soon the strange red creature you spotted swims out of a little crevice. It's some kind of segmented worm, almost like a waterborne centipede, that seems to dance through the water. It is tiny, no larger than the width of your thumb. If it weren't for the brightness of the color, there's no way you would have seen it. [[You decide to follow the blue-green glow of bioluminescence that lines a tunnel stretching up and away.|maze08-special03]] [[You hear a faint humming coming from a wider tunnel that turns sharply downward. You follow the sound.|maze02]] [[Above you the water seems to brighten. The passage is narrow but you grit your teeth and continue to wriggle your way up.|maze10]] <<include "timer">>

Somehow, a television. The anchor is describing a recent report from a neighboring nation's archipelago. "In what can only be described as an environmental disaster, five islands were swallowed by the sea. Locals are in mourning over what comes next as schools, businesses, and families are forced to uproot everything and leave." You hear the voice of a local woman being interviewed. "Our beloved land drew its last breath.” You can't imagine what it must feel like to be swallowed by the sea. Your mind goes to a book you once read that there are cultures who believe that after the soul departs the body for the afterlife its first task is to remember how to swallow. It’s second task, to remember its name and speak it aloud. [[Someone is calling your name|maze x01]] <<include "timer">>\

You kick and kick your fins until you find yourself with no where to go. This chamber is a dead end. You stop. There is nothing here. No visions or sounds, nothing. Somehow you feel both disappointed and afraid at the same time. You rest here for a moment, then double back to where you came from. There has to be a path you haven't taken yet. [[Go back|maze04]] <<include "timer">>

You round a bend to find yourself in a vast chamber so tall you can't see the ceiling. The walls are smooth stone, striped with the sediment of millenia, and the ground is pure white sand. Or is it snow? It glitters in the light of your flashlight and is ice cold to the touch. When you look up you see the cave has lightened somehow and three little girls with braided pigtails stand before you, bundled in fur parkas. The oldest of the group, no more than 8 years old, holds a knife carved from ivory in the shape of a bird. The other two chant, "Yaaruilta! Yaaruilta! Let's go story knife!" The eldest squats down on her heels and begins to draw in the snow with the knife. "You are the first to hear this story, but you won't be the last." <<if $player01 is true>>The girl tells a story about a careless crane who learns an important lesson about vigilance. She draws the bird's feathers beautifully.<</if>>\ <<if $player02 is true>>The girl tells a story about a fight between two boys that escalates to demonstrate the importance of compromise. Her drawing is elegant but brutal.<</if>>\ <<if $player03 is true>>The girl tells a story about a raven in search of a mate who learns an important lesson about being true to yourself. She draws the raven's bird's beautifully.<</if>>\ <<if $player04 is true>>The girl tells a story about a mink and a raven who kill a grizzly to demonstrate the importance of trust. Her drawing is elegant but brutal.<</if>>\ <<if $player05 is true>>The girl tells a story about an owl and a raven to explain how they each got their unique coloration. She draws the birds's feathers beautifully.<</if>>\ <<if $player06 is true>>The girl tells a story about a hare who kills a man to explain how light was brought to the world. Her drawing is elegant but brutal.<</if>>\ <<if $player07 is true>>The girl tells a story about a giant and a little bird who have a contest of strength to demonstrate the importance of wit. Her drawing is elegant but brutal.<</if>>\ <<if $player08 is true>>The girl tells a story about a boy gathering seaweed to explain the skill her people have with a sewing needle. She draws a beautifully intricate pattern.<</if>>\ <<if $player09 is true>>The girl tells a story about an old woman who incites a group of angry animals and learns an important lesson about honesty. Her drawing is elegant but brutal.<</if>>\ <<if $player10 is true>>The girl tells a story about a village who hunt a bounty of walrus to demonstrate the folly of waste. She draws a beautifully intricate pattern.<</if>>\ <<if $player11 is true>>The girl tells a story about two brothers who were kidnapped by the wind and are rescued by their youngest sibling. She draws the wind gracefully.<</if>>\ <<if $player12 is true>>The girl tells a story about a storm that brings game to a hungry village to demonstrate the importance of respecting the weather. Her drawing is elegant but brutal.<</if>>\ "So our elders teach us," she says. "And so shall you teach another, in whatever way you choose." The vision fades and you are alone once again in the vast cavern. [[You find an overhang with a narrow passage up the center, and catch a flash of red out of the corner of your eye. You float up to take a closer look.|maze05]] [[You swim around a large boulder and through a long, snake-like passage.|cave-01]] [[You're not sure if it's just in your head, but it sounds like someone is watching the news in the next chamber. You cautiously swim over to see.|maze06]] <<include "timer">>

Your head feels heavy and you wonder how long you've been down here. You tell yourself not to panic, to simply focus on retracing your steps and getting back to the boat. But in the space of your mind you hear a sound echoing louder and louder, until it is no longer a sound, but a voice speaking directly to you. "The gods know your heart, child. Offer them this prayer." <<if $player01 is true>>God of dead dreams, hold space for all that dies in us in the absence of those we love.<</if>>\ <<if $player02 is true>>Lord of lost hope, help us to grieve what's lost, mourning the dreams that will never come to pass, even those that still stir and ache in us.<</if>>\ <<if $player03 is true>>God of complicated grief, show us how to exist when we know all that we want will not be realized.<</if>>\ <<if $player04 is true>>God who cries light, may the nothingness not be numbness but a mercy.<</if>>\ <<if $player05 is true>>God of the shifting sand, I have been trained to believe that the beautiful things are the things which last. Help me to hold this trust in harmony with the knowledge that there is mysterious beauty in what does not remain.<</if>>\ <<if $player06 is true>>You who resides in the deepest deep, protect me from the lie that death is only ever tragedy.<</if>>\ <<if $player07 is true>>Last Breath, Remind me that not all things were meant to last.<</if>>\ <<if $player08 is true>>God of the first kiss, help me to submit to time, not as a thief but as an artist painting the beauty of fleeting things.<</if>>\ <<if $player09 is true>>God of smallness, if only for a moment, there is beauty, may we pause for it.<</if>>\ <<if $player10 is true>>God of crossroads, having not always honored myself, the land, or the people whose weight it bears, may I find forgiveness and believe that I have done what I could to be human and whole in this world. <</if>>\ <<if $player11 is true>>God of closed eyes, may I look into the sacred darkness, unknowable and opaque, and may the mystery of what is to come be a comfort and not a terror.<</if>>\ <<if $player12 is true>>God of simple truths. Inhale. Exhale. Let mystery be my home now and forever.<</if>>\ Now quieted, the voice offers one final thing before dissolving away, "This breath will end. Every breath will rest. Prepare for the mystery." And like that, you hear nothing but your own breathing. [[You hear what sounds like a news report and the flicker of light down a passageway to your left.|maze06]] [[A giant tuna glides slowly past, and you follow it through another winding tunnel.|maze03]] [[You have to get out of here. You think you know the way back Just go.|cave-01]] <<include "timer">>\

You see movement. One of the others makes their way forward and stands tall in front of the haze. They reach into a small pouch at their hip and pull from it something small, dark and hard looking. They look at it for just a moment before closing it tightly in their balled up fist and stretching their arm into the haze. The bluish glow of the room grows brighter and the images inside the haze shift and warp. The person at the front of the haze steps back, their hand now open, palm up, but nothing is there. In the mist you see them, countless versions refracted as if in a broken mirror. Each story a different life lived. In some, they leave the island. Find new land. A new home. New languages. New stories. In others, they stay. And when the ocean rises and the land washes away they are still there. Stuck between choices. Between times. Between stories. And then it is clear. Whether you choose to stay, or to go, you must leave something behind for those who come next. You must leave something that matters. [[Echo|offering]]

<<audio "ritual" play>> Close your eyes. Hold or imagine holding this object, thought, memory, wish, or echo in your hand. Let your fingers gently close around it. Imagine moving forward in this room until your body is right next to the mist. Imagine that as you move, mist collects on your body, coating you in a cool blue warmth that fills you with a feeling of peace and safety. Now take a deep breath and tense every muscle in your body and hold this tension to a count of 10. Let it all go to a count of 10. Your breath, the tension, let it all go. Inhale. Exhale. Imagine what this offering means to you. What memories it holds. The other people, places, animals, wishes it might have encountered. Imagine who might hold this after you. And when they do, imagine all the things you'd want them to know, to feel, to remember. Open your palm, and imagine this object being released into the sea. sinking lower and lower and lower. Let this offering be a promise for the past. Let this offering be a breath for the present. Let this offering be a wish for the future. <<link [[Open your eyes.|stories]]>><<audio "ritual" stop>><</link>>

<<silently>> <<repeat 1s>> <<set $seconds to $seconds - 1>> <<if $seconds gt 0>> <<else>> <<goto "wait">> <<audio "scuba-breath" fadeout>> <<stop>> <</if>> <</repeat>> <</silently>>

<<audio "tempest" play>>\ <<audio "bell" volume 0 fadeto 0.50 loop>>\ <<timed 1s t8n>>“Full fathom five thy father lies;<</timed>> <<timed 2s t8n>>Of his bones are coral made;<</timed>> <<timed 3s t8n>>Those are pearls that were his eyes:<</timed>> <<timed 4s t8n>>Nothing of him that doth fade,<</timed>> <<timed 5s t8n>>But doth suffer a sea-change<</timed>> <<timed 6s t8n>>Into something rich and strange.<</timed>> <<timed 7s t8n>>Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:<</timed>> <<timed 8s t8n>> Ding-dong.<</timed>> <<timed 9s t8n>>Hark! now I hear them,—ding-dong, bell.”<</timed>> <<timed 10s t8n>>–William Shakespeare, The Tempest<</timed>> <<timed 12s t8n>><<link [[Remember|home]]>><<audio "bell" fadeout>><</link>><</timed>>

<<audio waves play>>\ <<audio birds play>>\ Remember it: early morning off the northern shore of the Island. You stand on the beach facing the sunrise. Light is just starting to peek out over the horizon as the waves lick at your feet. There, amongst the broken coral sand and seagrass, you breathe in the early morning air. Coconut crabs skitter beneath the palms and across the rocks, tucking in and out of tide pools for shelter. Birds circling above the reef call out and you wonder if they are speaking to one another or to the sea. [[Kori, this is home.|dive][$player01 to true]] [[Natalie, this is home.|dive][$player02 to true]] [[Aisha, this is home.|dive][$player03 to true]] [[Jackie, this is home.|dive][$player04 to true]] [[Bonnie, this is home.|dive][$player05 to true]] [[Marc, this is home.|dive][$player06 to true]] [[sparks, this is home.|dive][$player07 to true]] [[Karmisha, this is home.|dive][$player08 to true]] [[Ayden, this is home.|dive][$player09 to true]] [[Abraham, this is home.|dive][$player10 to true]]

<<audio birds fadeoverto 3 0>>\ <<audio waves fadeout>>\ <<audio divesound play>>\ The boat is ready. Your guide drives you out to the dive site; a jagged cliff of coral, ghostly white near the surface, bleached in the warming waters and empty of the tiny animals that give them life and color. "Stay clear of the wall," your guide warns, “You don’t want to cut yourself. Too many hungry mouths this early in the morning.” You take note of his words, but still, you have waited for this. And as you fall backward off of the boat clutching your BC against your face, the ocean swallows you up into its blue maw. <center><img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"></center> Here you are at 5 meters depth. You get your bearings. As you trace the bubbles from your BC upward, you see the silhouette of your dive boat. You notice your breathing is heavy and you take a moment to slow down and calm yourself. As excited as you are, you don't want to run out of air too quickly. You slow your breathing...then swim down further. <center><img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"></center> 10 METERS <center><img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"></center> 15 METERS <center><img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"></center> 20 METERS <center><img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"></center> The wall is alive. Fish and nudibranchs glide across coral fans and brightly colored sponges. Damselfish and Maori wrasse flit past your face and kiss at the waving hands of an anemone in front of you. <center><img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"></center> 25 METERS <center><img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"></center> You smile to yourself thinking about the legend of a house underwater. A place where time and histories collapse. The elders love their fantasies and myths! <center><img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"></center> 30 METERS <center><img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"></center> This might not be the right place. Even so, it doesn't hurt to go a bit deeper. <center><img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"></center> 35 METERS <center><img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"> <img src="_assets/images/arrow-down.svg"></center> This is when you see it. At first it just looks like a shadow on the coral wall. Then a scooped out section of coral. Then an opening. A doorway. [[A portal|cave-01]]

<<audio "breathing" volume 0 fadeto 1>>\ <<audio "murmurs" volume 0 fadeto 0.2>>\ Stop here. Catch your breath. The waters haven't followed you. And now you see it: in the mist and haze there you are. All of you. Past, present, future. Each one of you in this room. As the mist plays out the story of your lives you feel the water welling up in your eyes. This is not simply a story of you. It is the story of this land in its becoming. A story of this land being washed away by the water, over and over, and over. And more now than ever before you know for a fact that the land is a part of you. That you are a part of the land. And know that that soon, the sea will come again to claim this earth and all that remains on it. That to be part of the land is also to be part of the waters that give it life. But without the land you feel lost like a turtle with no shell. Soft, vulnerable, too able to feel everything. You remember the story that the elders used to tell of a house at the bottom of the ocean with endless rooms that showed anyone brave enough the ways that all things are connected. All people and all times. And that in this house our memories, collective joys and sorrows could live on to remind us of what must be lost so that we might find a new way to live. To grow. [[To remember.|echo]]

<<audio "offering" play>> Take a moment to reflect on what you might offer. What you have around you is enough. Nothing is too small or too large. Too tangible or too abstract. What you offer is precious. You can offer it to the past, to the present, and to the future all at once. Find one thing you can offer this place of remembrance. An object, a thought, a memory, a breath, a wish. Anything you choose. Choose wisely. When you're ready, raise your hand. <<link [[An Offering|ritual]]>><<audio "offering" stop>><</link>>

<<audio "stories" play>> Remember: Stories make us whole. When what was home is lost or taken away, our bodies fill the void. Without place, without soil, without birdsong and the buzzing of insects, without sea breeze and the soft sweetness of ripe fruit, we write our histories on our skin. Stand, shoulder to shoulder, back to back, forehead to forehead. Arms outstretched above your head to catch the air and breath like palm trees. Your feet rooted in unfamiliar soil to make home of the unfamiliar. What stories can we tell now of a new home inside our bodies? What words can we make to name both loss and becoming all at once? Breathe. Let the water remind you that anything it touches is remembered. Nothing is forgotten. All of this lives on. Together, all of you who have known the rooms of the house at the bottom of the sea, make a story that will live on when everything above is washed away. One by one... reflect on what you experienced in these rooms and take a moment to think of a word or a phrase to leave in this place for the next who visit. <<link [[Thank you|End]]>><<audio "stories" stop>><</link>>

<img src="_assets/images/hero-v1.jpg" width=100%> Welcome to the House Beneath the Sea. We're going to put everyone in their own breakout room for this experience. Follow the instructions in Twine. There will be moments when you will be asked to raise your hand in Zoom. Take your time. You have ample time to explore. Enjoy the journey. If at any time you feel like you've gotten stuck, please come back to the main room to let us know. [[Begin|tempest]] [[Broken timer? Click here.|wait]]

"Next," yells a customs agent waving you forward. She sits behind a plexiglass divider as you approach. "Documents?" You hand her the passport that's suddenly in your hand. "Hmm," her nose scrunches up as she takes your passport and thumbs through the pages. "Will you be staying with family while you get set up?" You look around and see others you imagine have traveled here with you. There are families with multiple bags clustered together. Large suitcases which look stuffed to the point of bursting. Confused, you nod. "Long trip to get here." It's not a question and you can see through her pained expression that she is trying hard. Though you can't tell if the struggle is what she's trying to say, or what she's trying to hold back. "I uh...I'm wishing you lots of luck in starting a new life here." She stamps your passport, folds your papers in between the pages and nods in the direction of the exit. You feel yourself start to move forward and some part of you knows not to look back. [[A gentle humming draws you down a tunnel that twists to the right.|maze02]] [[Out of the corner of your eye you spot a flash of red and follow it into a narrow passage that leads up.|maze05]] [[A soft blue green glow beckons you downward.|maze08-special03]] <<include "timer">>\

<<audio "flood01" volume 0 fadeto 0.15>>\ And then you hear it, the sound of waves crashing, of water rushing in from everywhere. You look in front of you and behind you but there is nothing here. No water. And yet the sound gets louder, closer, more insistent. That's when you look up. The ceiling of the chamber is white and frothy with water churning violently, waves crashing above you as though a great dam has broken and the water is rushing back to its home. The water is filling the room and you watch as it moves quickly closer to your head. Shadows rush past you leaving echoes of their voices lingering in the air around you. "Run!" And like that, you are running as fast as you can. The water has crept down the jagged walls of the cave behind you and is starting to catch up. It is dripping from above, forming pools and puddles that splash under foot. The shadows continue to move around you, racing toward the darkness still a ways in front. There is a gentle bluish glow ahead. You follow it, running harder, hoping that your lungs won't give out, before your legs. You are almost there as the sound of the waves rushes closer. Almost there. Almost there. <<link [[Run with everything you have|mist]]>><<audio "flood01" fadeout>><</link>>

<<audio "scuba-breath" fadeout>> One moment you were swimming, the next you were...here. Walking through this chamber, illuminated just enough for you to see the immense size of it. Your diving gear is nowhere to be found, your body dry as though you were never in the ocean at all. You sense the presence of others around you. Take a moment to rest and when you're ready, raise your hand. [[Wait until you hear a voice to move on.|Flood]]

Thank you for exploring the House Beneath the Sea. Created by Christian Howard and Tara Odorizzi Poetry Black Liturgies, by Cole Arthur Riley The Tempest, William Shakespeare Sound <a href="https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=&source=bbc_archive">BBC Sound Effects</a> Wikitongues "Betsy speaking Vurës" Pulled from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxdd3bUVnuI">YouTube</a> Images Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@hellothisisbenjamin?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Benjamin Behre</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/birds-eye-view-photography-of-island-under-white-clouds-PB_SdlCPCDs?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Unsplash</a>