MS-0010 · The Interim · card 3 of 7
Buoyancy
The water would hold him up, and his thrashing is the only thing pulling him under.
- Element
- Water
- Tense
- Present, unresolved
- The hand
- That could not take
The card
He thrashes upright in the middle of a shallow, glassy pool, jaw set, shoulders hunched, working extremely hard. The water is calm everywhere except in the small circle of churn he is making, and clear enough to see it would hold him effortlessly if he simply stopped. Around him the sprites float flat on their backs with their eyes closed, one watching him with patient amusement. This card is the section's joke and its sharpest accusation: the effort is the only thing sinking you.
To sit with
Where is your effort the very thing pulling you under?
What might hold you up if you stopped trying so hard to stay afloat?
Related cards
UndertowThe card before.Nothing below means him harm, and he fights every inch of the way down.
SaltThe next card.He came out of the water with a few grains in his hand, and nothing tells him whether it is enough.
BethesdaThe section's first card.Healing is already under his hand, and he has lain here so long he no longer knows if he wants it.