Ashen To Azure

by Glenn Davies



Water circles flow
Ripples of concentration
On life ever goes



The river was almost silent, quietly mumbling to itself in swirls and eddies.

A kingfisher sighted prey and swooped, rushing down from its branch. There was a splash, and a spray of water.

The bird rose, a silvery fish drooping from its beak. Droplets of water fell behind it.
Cobalt watched as each drop cast a momentary rainbow before returning to the river.

The human eye can detect millions upon millions of colours, he thought. And for half a second, I saw each and every one of them, in the one drop of water. Cobalt laughed silently. He could see so much, but no one would ever see him. He would never stand out in a crowd.

People might describe him as average. That was if they remembered him at all. People simply said “average height, dark hair, I think.”

His invisibility was a blessing and a curse.



The river’s banks slowly drew closer, the grass dying back into concrete borders. The meandering stream became a structured canal, servicing the liquid needs of a stagnant metropolis.

The surface of the water became still, barely a ripple stirring as the boat moved along. It was like a mirror, casting a perfect reflection of its world.

The city was exactly like all the others. Like a bad dream, cold and unsentimental, eventually it would force him to leave. Once more he would be alone, a lone changer in a world of uniform conformity.

There were sounds, but they were ordered, regimented, chained into pre-programmed sequences. An artificial orchestra of vehicles, machines and workers moved back and forth creating their false symphony.



Buildings like lone palms
Try to find an oasis
Desert without charms



The water was now still, so Cobalt climbed out of the boat onto the concrete bank. Right before him was a transport station, and he went inside.

He got on the nearest mover and stepped aboard, not particular about his destination. There were several empty seats, but he stood instead, holding on to a rail and watching the other passengers with their train-dead faces.

After two stations it was too much for him and he stepped off. He headed straight for the surface of the city. He was guessing the familiar patterns would soon follow him as they often did, but nothing could prepare him for Sapphire, the city’s only jewel.



The first building he passed had a concrete façade, devoid of life. Pounding bass and heavy beats came out through the doorway, an aural mirror of the cityscape.

Cobalt stopped and turned to face the dark portal. Once inside, it took some time for his sight to adjust to the lack of light.

At the other end of the room was a band area, but there were no bands. Instead, two chrome robots sat at a large control bank and manipulated dials and levels with their shiny cold hands.



A single figure moved rigidly on the dance floor. It was a girl, and she turned in Cobalt’s direction. She looked straight at him, and for the first time in his memory, someone really saw him.

He gestured to her, not quite sure why, and she stepped towards him. He turned, and she followed out into the light, where he could see her better.

“My name is Sapphire.”

A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. He knew it would sound cliché out loud, but she really was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on; a fairy-tale princess.

“It is a lovely name.” No other words came from his mouth.

Here eyes – they were of the clearest blue, like pools of the sky, of flowers in fields. They were eyes he could get lost in. It was like he forgot everything he’d ever learned, and for the first time in his life, really knew.

Her hair was the darkest he had ever seen, blacker than a night without light. At the right angle, the sun’s rays could make it appear blue, but that was temporary.

“Thank you.”

She looked at him, her eyes questioning his. He smiled in response, something she could not quite comprehend. Reaching out, he took her hand in his, and they started to walk.



She was the most beautiful girl,
And he was a stranger in town.
With dark hair in a twisted curl,
She was the most beautiful girl,
With shining eyes and smile of pearl.
In her beauty he wants to drown,
She was the most beautiful girl,
And he was a stranger in town.



Pylons of concrete and steel grew up out of a building site, growing high to reach the matt grey sky.

A foreman unrolled his plans and shouted instruction to his drones, who laid out a driveway in gravel and stones.

Then they walked on some more, along a concrete footpath. Tessellated slabs stretched as far as the eye could see in an ash-coloured grid of side-walks and street-corners.

Cobalt took in the sights, and wished for some colour, for some greens, or some yellows, or maybe even whites.

But not grey.



There once was a city so grey
It even looked night during day
Could a visitor strange
Bring about any change
Or would it always this way stay?



The next day, Cobalt went back to the club.

Cobalt picked up a paintbrush and splashed some colour across the bare wall. Having received his call the night before, Sapphire was waiting at the door.

He took her hand and together they went on another walk.

They took the same route, but this time there were differences. At the building site, the building was finished. Long green vines grew up its exterior, framing its windows beautifully. Sapphire let out a gasp of wonder at the sight.

Cobalt smiled, and they walked on.

Looking down, Sapphire let out another breath. The concrete path she was used to was gone, replaced by a soft carpet of grass.



A stranger walks through a city,
And changes follow at his feet.
With a face and heart of pity,
A stranger walks through a city.
Place of grey needs some gaiety.
With a girl he chances to meet,
A stranger walks through a city,
And changes follow at his feet.



Cobalt reached down and picked a flower. The word campanula sprang into his mind, but was stopped by his mouth. Instead he held it up silently for her. Sapphire took the flower, and held it carefully in her hand, as though any moment it might catch a breeze and fly away. Cobalt reached into her hand and took it, placing it behind her ear.

This time it was Sapphire’s time to smile, and she was even more beautiful.

She reached out. As her fingertips made contact with Cobalt’s hand, a little blue flower grew at her feet. It was followed immediately by another. Sapphire gave a little laugh, and started dancing around and around him, never breaking contact.
Her feet danced and pranced in loops and whorls. More and more flowers sprung up with each footfall, until a mass of blue spelt her name in the grass.

Once more, Cobalt smiled.



There’s never been a mystery
Quite like the man they call Cobalt.
Not once in all of history,
There’s never been a mystery,
Like what is this man’s true story
And is the strange changing his fault?
There’s never been a mystery
Quite like the man they call Cobalt.



“How do you do it?”

“It’s not me. At least, I don’t think it is. It doesn’t always happen, but it’s not like I have any conscious control. It does or it doesn’t. Sometimes I think it’s just following me around.”

“It’s nice.”

He nodded, agreeing.

Together they stopped and listened, and realised at once that there were changes in the air. The city’s song was become less and less programmed, and more and more melodic.

They walked for hours, and each corner brought new wonders. On their way back, a playground had been built in front of the new building. Children were busy running, and playing, laughing and singing.

School was out.



Children running round
Time for play after so long
Laughing smiles abound



Cobalt looked around, and noticed they had made a complete circuit of the town, for they were back at the doorway.

A mournful saxophone cried out from within. Cobalt and Sapphire shared a look, and entered the darkness.

A spotlight singled out a man sitting on the edge of the stage, the instrument in his hands. He blew his soul out into the air, for them all to share.

He changed his tune to a happier one, and the couple took to the dance floor. The robots looked on.



Men made of metal
Cannot understand the dance
Moving flower petals



He told her of the river, of birds, of the world beyond her own. Each new word of a new world added a millimetre to the length of her smile.

Sapphire was happy.

And so was Cobalt.



“I have to go.”

“Why? The city is changing even more. There’s no telling how nice it may become.”

“The city will be happy, as will its people. But eventually the city will force its own will back upon itself.”

“But if you stay?”

“I can’t stay. There are other cities. One day, perhaps, if another time for change is needed here, my boat will bring me in this direction again. Otherwise, I cannot say.”

She was silent for a moment, and played with a flower she had picked up from the ground. Even as she held it, she could see the colour slowly begin to fade, and the petals started to droop. “Take me with you.”

Yes, come with me, the thought, but instead said “I can offer you nothing.”

“You are everything.”

And you are everything to me. “Nothing but moving from place to place.”

“That is something.”

“No home.” But if you come with me, perhaps that will change.

“Wherever you are will be home.”



As the distance between the boat and the city increased, so did the flow of the river. Soon the boat was moving at a fair pace.

Cobalt looked up into the sky, and clouds drifted by. They were white and fluffy, and the sky beyond was clear and bright, no longer grey. A single bird flew overhead, and he smiled. Sapphire pointed, she saw it too.

There was the horizon.

They were going home.



Horizon awaits
Distance comes ever nearer
They are going home