The water lapped lazily at the sides of my small, sleek, wooden boat as it drifted through the clear blue water. The water departed before the hull, creating silky smooth waves on either side of the ship. The water glinted and sparkled in the midday sun, making easy to see into the depths below.

The New York City Skyline completely submerged loomed beneath the surface of the crystal water, its dark shapes giving it a ghostly and haunting look. Gazing down, it seemed so close I could touch it and feel the metal of the spires that jutted up from the one towering skyscrapers.

I gently allowed my hand to drag in the water, creating ripples as I did so. The water was cool and refreshing against my tanned hands. I withdrew my hand, knowing full well that the watery city lay hundreds of feet under. It would take an impressive scuba expedition to even touch the highest peaks of the tallest buildings, and even then, one never knew of the creates that lurked in the eerie hallways of old office buildings.
The bell hanging from my ship’s mast interrupted my thoughts with a clear and resounding clang! I jerked my head up momentarily startled. A gull sat upon the metal bell, tilting its head, giving me an almost questioning look.

“Hey, there,” I said to the feathered creature. “Looking for a handout?”
It let out a caw. Gulls were ALWAYS looking for handouts. But I knew better. Gulls were as bold as they were hungry and once one finds you have anything remotely edible in your grasp, they would not hesitate to throw themselves at you, nibbling at you with their curved beaks.

I shooed the creature away and it reluctantly flew off into the strikingly blue sky. I stared after, watching its white body disappear into the blinding light of the sun.
It’s been approximately one hundred and twenty years since the sea claimed the majority of the North American content, banishing most of its major city to the deep blue. I, of course, don’t remember this monumental event, being only 16, but my grandmother did.

“It was disastrous!” My Grandmother would tell me when I began questioning her about the event. “Or so the politicians wanted us to believe. Truth was, this flood saved us from an even greater disaster; greed.”

She then would go on and talk of the white house plunging beneath the ocean’s all too welcoming waves and how many people died and how that was but a great tragedy. But people rose from the waves, rebuilding their lives and cities above the water, creating “floating villages” and even cities that bobbed on the surface of the water. Our once organized government was in shambles as were many other countries. Old Japan was now nothing more than a memory. But New Japan was a sight to behold, at least according to the rumors. Humanity is remarkably resilient, and the Japanese people were no different. Truth being, they had more time to prepare, expecting the flood a little more early on than any of the other nations.

Some were not so lucky. Great Britain got the worst of it. Big Ben was now nothing more than an ornate home of fish and sea life.
But one thing remained without question; Many suffered at the hand of unforgiving the tide.