Ship of Theseus

 I wrote this a year or two ago and it isn't very good.

 

Theseus looks under the rock and finds a pair of sandals jordans and his father’s sword. 

Theseus bids farewell to his father, the king, who sends him and 13 brothers as a 

sacrifice to the minotaur. White sails for victory, black sails for death. There at Minos’ 

Deimos’ and Pasiphaë’s palace, their daughter Ariadne falls in love with him, freedom and

 she begs the old man Daedalus to aid him so that he may live. Daedalus crafts for her a

 spool of thread  spider silk that will show the way through the labyrinth. With it, Theseus

 kills slays the Minotaur. He takes Ariadne aboards his ship, but he abandons her at an 

isle at Dionysus’ request  for the vultures. Alas, when he returns home, he has forgotten

 the sails, and they are stark black, and when the king sees them he does not wait but

 hurls himself into the sea. 

    Theseus looks dives within the well and finds a pair of jordans and his father’s finest old

 wooden sparring spear. Theseus bids farewell to his father and 13 brothers, who send him as an

 unwilling sacrifice to the Minotaur. White Green sails for life, black sails for death. There at 

Deimos’ and Scylla’s tower, their serf surf Ariadne falls in love with the sea, but she cannot leave,

 and so in Theseus she sees a rescuer. She goes to the top of the tower and bribes the old hermit  

monster Daedalus to aid Theseus so that he may live. Daedalus crafts for her spins in his spinnerets

 a spool of spider silk that will show the way through the maze beneath the tower. With it, Theseus

 defeats beats the Minotaur. Ariadne and Theseus escape aboard his ship, but the waves rise up to

 claim her and she does not resist, becoming Charybdis Ran in his wake. Alas, when he returns

 home, he has forgotten the sails, and they are stark starry black, and when his father sees them he

 does not wait but hurls himself into the sea.

    Theseus descends the dry well and finds a pair of jordans leather boots and his trusty old

 wooden sparring spear revolver and an old worn badge. Theseus bids farewell to his mother

 and 13 starving brothers, who send him as an unwilling sacrifice to the Minotaur. The 

wagons go west with him inside, a prisoner. Green cloth for life, blue cloth for death. There at

 Deimos’ Dry Lenny and Scylla’s Sally Skewers’ tavern, their waitress Ariadne falls in love 

with the desert and the starry blood-red nights, but she cannot leave alone, and the others say

 she is too young to go with them, and in Theseus she sees a companion. She goes to the corner

 of the tavern and bribes the old spider drunkard Daedalus to aid Theseus so that he may live.

 Daedalus spins in his spinnerets a spool of spider silk unravels a sleeve of his shirt whose

 threads that will show the way through the maze beneath the tavern. With it, Theseus  

fights off shoots the Minotaur. Ariadne and Theseus escape aboard his wagon, but the stars

 spill down to claim her and she rides off is shot dead one day before sunrise. Alas, when he

 returns home, he has forgotten the cloth of his wagon, and it is starry blue, and when his 

mother sees it she does not wait but hurls herself off a cliff into a canyon.

  Theseus descends the dry well discovers a treasure cove and finds a pair of leather 

boots and his trusty old revolver and an old worn badge grimed-up piece of eight.  

Theseus bids farewell to his mother and 13 starving brothers, who send him as a sacrifice 

to the Minotaur. The ships go north with him inside, a prisoner. Green cloth for life, blue

 cloth for death. There at Dry Lenny and Sally Skewers’ tavern, their barmaid Aria falls

in love with beer and shanties and the starry blood-red nights adventure on the high seas

  but she cannot leave alone, and the others say she is too young to go with them, and in

 Theseus she sees a companion partner. She goes to the corner of the tavern and bribes the

 old drunkard Dread Lewis to aid Theseus so that he may live. Dread Lewis unravels a

 sleeve of his the shirt he nearly drowned in, whose golden threads will show the way through

 the swamp beneath the tavern. With it, Theseus duels the Minotaur. Aria and Theseus 

escape aboard his ship, but the stars spill down to claim her and she drowns trying to 

catch them. Alas, when he returns home, he has forgotten the cloth of his sails, and it is

 starry blue, and when his mother sees it she does not wait but hurls herself into the sea.

    Theodore digs up discovers his a time capsule and finds a pair of leather boots

  camera and his trusty old revolver pistol and an old grimed-up piece of eight.

 Theodore bids farewell to his mother and 3 starving brothers, who send him as a sacrifice

 to the Minotaur. The ships go north with him inside, a soldier. blue cloth for life, red cloth

 for death. There at Lenny and Sally’s bar, their barmaid Aria falls in love with mystery 

and shaky film but she cannot explore alone, and the others dare not go, and in Theodore

 she sees a partner. She goes to the corner of the bar and bribes the old drunkard Lewis 

to aid Theodore so that they may discover finally sleep sound. Lewis unravels

 a toy sheep knitted by his mother, whose golden threads will show the way through

 the maze beneath the bar. With it, Theodore slaughters murders the Minotaur. Aria

 and Theodore escape towards the light, but the dark spills up to claim her and she 

freezes. Aria DNE. Alas, when Theodore returns to his house, he has forgotten the cloth

 of his sails, and it is starry red, and when his mother sees it she does not wait but hurls

  hangs herself into the sea.

Theodore digs up a grave and finds a camera

 and a trusty old pistol and a roll of black and white

 film. Theodore bids farewell to his mother and 3

 starving brothers, only 2 since Hank died. because

 he cannot get an exemption from the draft. The ships

 go north with him inside, a soldier. blue cloth for

 life, red  cloth for death. There at Lenny and Sally’s

 inn a cheap hotel off-duty , the receptionist Aria falls in

 love with mystery and shaky film and the haunted ghosts in the

caverns below, but she cannot knows not to explore alone, and

 the others dare not go, and in Theodore she sees a

partner with experience. She goes to the corner 

of the street and bribes the old drunkard Lewis 

with a bed for the night for as long as she can keep the ruse 

up from her boss  so that he will aid them. Lewis unravels

 a toy sheep knitted by his son, whose golden 

threads will show the way through the

 caverns beneath the inn. He cries as he does it. With it,

Theodore and Aria can descend down into

 the depths, shaking as they go. It is not quite

 so bad for Theodore as the war, but it is still

 horrifying, ghostly whispers worse than what

was caught on film. Whatever they searched for 

is long gone, that’s not true, they came for ghosts and those 

they found and as they flee it is only with the thread 

that Theodore survives that place. Aria is

 gone, Theodore says she fell and tripped behind him as he ran 

and followed the snake of the thread and he did not see what 

happened next, but hearing was enough. Alas, 

when Theodore returns from service to his house, 

he has forgotten the cloth of his car roof, and it is 

blood red, and when his mother sees it she does

 not wait but hangs herself he  returns home his

 mother and brothers are lying still on the floor  with blood

 pouring out of their eyes.

 

     Thea digs up a grave receives a gift from a drone, and finds a camera 

and a trusty old blaster and a roll of gum. Thea bids farewell to her 2 starving  

brothers sisters, because she cannot get an exemption from the draft. Her ship 

goes out towards Alpha Centauri Beta Lyra, and as time passes she rises through 

the naval ranks… She will die on an alien shore, and even then her family will 

receive no recompense, or even news of her demise.  There at an old dive-bar with 

retro neon fixtures, the DJ Aria Rhianna dreams of her own steading and crew, 

but she knows she cannot to explore alone, and in Thea she sees a mentor  monster 

and a business partner. She goes to the corner of the street and bribes the old scrap-scrounger

 Lewis with a bed for the night and a share in the company so that he will aid them. Lewis 

unravels a toy sheep knitted grown by his son, whose golden glowing threads vines will

 show the way through the caverns beneath the inn. He cries as he does it, oil rainbows 

down his sagging cyborg skin. With it, Thea and Aria Rhianna can descend down into 

the depths, shaking as they go. It is not quite so bad for Thea as the wars, but it is still 

horrifying, ghostly whispers worse than what was caught on film hologram. Whatever they 

searched for is long gone, that’s not true, they came for ghosts and those they found and as 

they flee it is only with the thread that Thea survives that place. Aria Rhianna is gone, 

Thea says she fell and tripped behind her as she ran and followed the snake of the thread and 

she did not see what happened next, but hearing was enough. Lewis tells a different story, 

and he never visits that bar again.

Thea bade farewell to her 2 starving sisters, because she could not get did not want an 

exemption from the draft. Her ship sped out towards the Adelphian Archipelago, and as 

time passed she rose swiftly through the naval ranks… But even as she did so, she knew 

death waited on those sparkling foreign shores, and even then her family would receive little 

recompense, or even news of her demise.  There at an old dive-bar with newfangled neon 

fixtures, the singer Arianna dreamt of her own steading and crew, and in Thea she saw an old 

monster of the sea, admirable in an intimidating way with her medals on her threadbare uniform. 

Meeting her friend Lewis, with whom she planned to go sailing, she and Thea began their dive 

into the depths of old caves, looking for a store of old pirate gold to make the world their oyster. 

It was not quite so bad for Thea as the dark brig of enemy ships, hands bound tight-too-tight, but 

it was still horrifying, ghostly whispers like the haunting of old sailors. The gold they searched 

for was long gone, and as they fled it was only with Lewis’s compass that Thea survived that place. 

Arianna and Lewis were just… gone, Thea said afterwards, said she fell and tripped as she ran and 

did not see what happened next, but hearing was enough. There was no one left to refute her claim.

Lea shall leave her two sisters, and set out to seek her fortune on the winds. Her airship shall sail 

true towards the Adelphian Archipelago, there she shall rise swiftly in renown, while all the while 

death bides its time but will never come for her.  There at an old shoe-shop, the apprentice Aran 

will spend days daydreaming of clouds and sawn-off sandbags. In Lea he will see an old dragon 

of the skies, admirable and stern. He and Lea will set off into the skies, hoping to catalog the stars 

in the dark silence above the clouds. Lea will not  be the only dragon that night; when she recounts 

the story later on stormy days, she will recall fire setting the silence—and then the balloon—alight, 

and then everything was falling too fast and they crashed and Aran was gone “The dragons ate 

him”, she will say.  She will always remember the graying of his friends’ faces when she first 

told them  weight leaving her hands like the flight of a bird when she pushed, weight like heavy 

breath, breath pulled out of his chest and into hers. 

It is the dark before dawn in the morning it is almost dawn. An old hand—your old hand scratches

 at candle-lit paper. It is a confession, and likely your last. It concerns an incident that was a 

long time ago in your late youth, or perhaps your early middle age. You would have called it middle

 age, but the children of this generation—perhaps even their parents’ generation—will consider it

 youth. There was a girl whose name you can’t remember it started with a vowel the letter A,

 and there was a the fire, a burning house, her burning house her house was burning did you

 start the fire? Someone started the fire, but maybe it was an accident. You did not start

 the fire. Someone else was drunk and spilled a bottle in the kitchen cooker. and you—and

 she—were in the burning house, and there was one window. One? Could there have been only 

one? You thought there was another at the time. No you didn’t. You just wanted out. You went 

to her house every day and you knew how many windows it had you forgot how many windows 

the house had at that moment. You were scared. And you passed through it. That was not 

such a bad thing to do was it? It wasn’t that you did pass through, it was that she didn’t. She 

died. There. Whoever’s reading this can infer that, but it still merits writing, because it is 

important. She died. She died. She died a long time ago. There was one window and you got 

there first she got there first and you pushed her out of the way you stupid monster! She let you 

go. and you passed through it and out of the burning house and that was not a bad thing at all 

that was instinct that was survival and not a sin at all no?  It was and you know it. It was a long 

time ago, and it was not your fault, and you have paid with its heavy weight on your shoulders. 

 You consider burning it. You don’t remember her name. How could you forget it? You loved 

her, didn’t you, somewhere in that messed up little head of yours. You never loved her until she 

died.  You stop yourself. They don’t need to know this, and it’s too scribbled and messy.  

The candle beckons. 

Once upon a time there was a god, and the god was the weighing

 god, the god of death, Thanatos. And Theseus came to Thanatos,

 and said “Ariadne my father my mother Aria the Minotaur my brothers 

 Arianna and Lewis Aran she is are they are all are is dead because 

of me”, and Thanatos, seeing double, triple, more and more and 

more, did not know what to do. 

So he said to Theseus “Do it all again, and then I will know

 how to judge you.”