Memory Fragments: Probity

Aboard The Waterbed

Did you ever think about why it is called The Waterbed? Is it bubbly, or does it jiggle?
Also, when thinking about its conception, it must have been hard to come up with it
A ship that could sail ruptures, fissures, and never sink! Even cannonballs made it wiggle
Some say that his captain kept it safe in a bottle. Imagine! A ship, in a bottle, made fit!

But, if the ship was tiny inside the bottle, how did it get this big when taken out?
Did it get filled with water and expanded? Is that why it is called that way? Because water?
But why the bed part? Was it actually a gorgeous cruise to take the most leisured route?
I guess it was because its main chambers were not for the captain, but for his daughter!

I can picture it right now. A slumbering girl, rocking her dreams with the waves of the ship
Such a trip to dreamland would make you wish to never wake up from that kind of sleep
Maybe that is why there is this myth about it. "Sleep, sail, and drift on The Waterbed's trip"
"On an island I see, the end of this dream-like sea. The droplets seep, sinking it deep"

Excuse me, uh, Ms. Ceridwen Aisling. I know this must be explained later in the exhibition
But I, um, think there is this air of veracity about this ship. Something makes it real for me
Perhaps it is because I am seeing it right in front of my eyes but, I cannot help my suspicion
What is that in which I believe? Miss, do you, uh, well, believe anything that you see?

"As you can see, Little Miss Gilanidra. Dreams are but one story in one of the Hydra's heads"
"As each one sleeps the most beautiful dreams, they rest eternal until cut down by reality"
"The Waterbed is one such reality. Drifting sleeping dreamers towards their sinking beds"
"Little by little, a hole or three. A sunken dream amidst the sea. A new island for us to see"

So I, well, we are the captains of our own dreams? Is that, like, the metaphor here?
But I have one head though. Does that mean I can only ever dream one dream?
Oh, wait! I get it! "A single ship I steer clear. Through fissures and ruptures, I reach my pier"
But, there is only one Waterbed. How could it ferry so many dreams towards their stream?

"Even though all the streams connect to a single sea, so too does the hydra's body"
"Where all dreams are born from. It is but a single journey of multiple paths"
"The Waterbed is one such journey. The crossing between, does it embody?"
"Yet it is filled with strife. The embarks of such adventures, cruising the aftermaths"

Ok. Yeah, um, that is quite the puzzle you just laid down Ms. Aisling. Was that a question?
I guess, The Waterbed could embody a crossing of sorts but, what are the points of reference?
If we all start from a different path, but end up the same, could there be an intersection?
Oh! Like a shared dream? Perhaps, a common destination or a collective deference

"Of one body and many heads. Of many dreams and one goal. Sacrifice is a Hydra's nature"
"One head dies, another takes its place. One dream sinks, another surfaces from wreckage"
"May the sea of the lost ship never run dry. For it will reach bottom, and its purpose, disnature"
"The Waterbed is such ship. A dreamer's lost journey through reality. A found end in leakage"

In leakage? But the ship was said to never shipwreck or have any damage through its service
Maybe it is not an actual leakage. Oh! Another metaphor, right? Like, a dragging anchor!
"Even though you are lost, never throw the weight of your dreams. They will drag you nervous"
I think? Or maybe: "Lost in the storm of ideas. Lift anchors, and sail the maelstrom's rancor!"

This is getting hard to figure out, Ms. Aisling. Can we move along with the exhibition for now?
I think if I see more of the things in here, I might get more of a clue about the Waterbed's story
Furthermore, there is a prop of the captain's chambers! I just need to get there and plop down
Yeah! If I feign slumber and daydream, maybe I will get to know the deal of this ship's history!

"But were we not daydreaming this whole time, miss Gilanidra? About this craftmanship?"
"If I pictured myself as the captain, then you must surely have depicted yourself as it too"
"Only the daughter was allowed in the chambers. For it was her; the steerer of the ship"
"If neither you nor I is the daughter, then The Waterbed cannot move. No dreams in view"

But I cannot be her. Not really. I only have nightmares when I get home with my drunkard dad
I want to be the captain for once. Imagine this ship, and sail far, far, far away from him
"Yet one must dream the most beautiful dream for the other to be guided through the bad"
"This is the story of The Waterbed, dear. A daughter's dream guides a father through the grim"

"A tiny dream kept in a tiny bottle. It rests soundly inside, rocking through the cracking bottle"
"Yet it never breaks. Such soft, light, and tiny ship could never be weighted down and sink"
"Do you see it? In the chamber's prop, A little bottle, atop its waterbed, going full throttle"
"A little girl's imagination. A father's realization. In the sea of alcohol, never enough to drink"

My nightmares...are drowning father? By keeping them bottled-up, they...form a drunken sea?
So I have to, um, break the bottle? Let the ship, my nightmares, spill out? Is this a metaphor?
Is this why you brought me here, Ms. Aisling? To talk me into a problem I do not want to see?
I...thank you. For trying to bring this up in a clever way but, this is something I care not anymore

With all due respect, I want to be the captain. Is that ok? Let me daydream a perfect day
It is now my turn to interact with the prop so, I need you to be the dreaming daughter
Ms. Aisling...mother. I want you to dream of us again. A dream that would never go astray
Please, come aboard The Waterbed. Let me sail you towards your coming granddaughter