A space-pirate saga

Bhavana Iyer, AIS Noida, Alumna

Submerged in a black hole’s subterrain sat a secret scarlet strongbox, stuffed with sapphires, silks, and shimmering splendour. But stories insisted the safe was a sepulchre for stellar sailors. Any soul who sought it was swallowed, silenced, and sealed away. Fates splintered, hopes snuffed.
Into that same celestial stretch sailed space-pirate Sebastian Silverville. Skillful, suave, and admittedly supercilious, he swore he’d secure the strongbox and return safe and sound. The sagacious warned him, “Those spoils spell sorrow. Be sensible, Silverville, or you’ll sink into stories shrouded in sorrow.”
“Silly superstitions,” he scoffed, steering his spaceship ‘Solarsail Supreme’ into the stars. His first stop was Mars, where a sizzling shard suddenly sliced through Solarsail’s skids. Sebastian spotted the source: Spindlesazz the Shardspitter, slithering into sight. Several strikes, stubborn standoffs, and a sharp sidestep later, Sebastian split the space-monster into slivers. Smug and satisfied, he set off again, sure he’d soon seize the scarlet box.
But Jupiter refused simplicity. The stratosphere shook: a snaking storm snatched the starship and spun it at supersonic speed. Stunned and scrambling for sense, Sebastian steadied his stance, just as the smog split and slammed Solarsail into Jupiter’s surface. Shaken but standing, he spotted Smogmire the Cyclonic Sentinel. Instead of striking the storm-maker, Sebastian simply shoved the steering hard, and sped away. Sometimes it’s smarter to scoot than slay.
Still snickering, he stopped at Saturn to snooze a smidgen. But Sirius, sky-sized and stone-skinned, sprang from the shadows and shot a searing star at him. Sebastian swerved the strike and studied the giant spectre, spotting a slim split along its spine. He shot down from the Supreme, swung his sword, and struck the soft spot. Sirius stilled, then scattered into stardust. On he sped: through Uranus’ snowy sheets to spar with Sibbleblip the storm-flash serpent; through Neptune’s swirling skies to subdue Squelch the shapeshifting slime. Success continued stacking in his skillful, splendid stride.
Finally, he saw the black hole. He slipped inside, smiling as he snatched silver sceptres and sapphires by the sackful. But the stories had spoken sense. No matter how he steered, struggled, or strained, the starship wouldn’t shoot back out. His struggles stopped short; the celestial sinkhole swallowed him silently. And so, Sebastian Silverville, the sublime yet supercilious space-pirate, survives only as a story; a soft-spoken sentinel meant to steer children away from stubborn, swaggering sins.
(Bhavana is currently pursuing BTech CSE from SASTRA Deemed University, Tamil Nadu. She wrote this story using alliteration as a figure of speech.)

The chime of the sea

Ananya Vashishtha, AIS Saket, XII B

The dark, slippery rock’s floor
By the sea’s anguished roars
Echoes with moans of the gore
And tunes that the depths wore

Wretchedly grey clouds go by
Like a wild call amidst cries
Waters make mournful screams
Making ancient towers lean

Great grief reflects in the sheen
Of the pearls that oceans glean
As if amidst her darkest fears
Glint a maiden’s woeful tears

Scripts written by nature’s grace
It echoes the words of the haze
Dark waters cast a sinister smile
While bitter winds doth beguile

These thickening mists over cliffs
With their never-ending tiffs
Long conspired with vicious rocks
To lead all astray from the docks

Lurking around the timeless clock
Fish swim like birds in a flock
As if between the sky and the sea
Lay a mirror with utmost clarity

As ships sail full of decadence
Following the wind’s cadence
A deluge of ambrosia pours over
And a deafening silence hovers

But an end to this darkness nears
All hope do cloudy veils conceal
The sun breaking the sea’s misery
Decorating it with glitter and glee.