Hortus Conclusus

 

 Wednesday evening, 2046. We napped all afternoon as our train swept through the land at its maximum speed, feeling the almost imperceptible lift at that certain point when air pressure took our carriage just slightly off the rails reducing friction and allowing the super speed. Somehow a magnetic force kept us on the right track. It's best not to think too much about it. 

Our windows dimmed; it’s not advisable to try to watch at these speeds and it’s a long way down the track so most of us closed our eyes and tried to relax to the piped ambient music. 

Now, as the windows clear and the train slows, we can see the environs of Euthenia on the approach to our destination; Hortus Conclusus. 

Skies are vast here. I move to the opposite window to see how the landscape has changed since my last visit. The huge, man-made lake comes into view. What an accomplishment; filled naturally by a combination of rain and flooding from the river, along with run-off from buildings and structures in the area via a complex system of pipes. Cattle and horses are drinking at the edge. Plants, trees and foliage are growing in abundant variety all around.  

It's been raining but the clouds have passed. A fellow passenger joins me to look just as a rainbow forms, it's perfect arc makes a complete circle in the water. 

My fellow passenger and I gasp and laugh together, briefly glancing into each others' eyes. 

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