"Imagine"

 

June 19^th, 2024

Dear Guinevere,

By golly, Merlin’s incantations worked! ‘Tis really I, thy beloved, writing to thee from the year two-thousand and twenty-four. TWO-THOUSAND AND TWENTY-FOUR! Who’d have thought that the Mayans would’ve been wrong? I’ve only been here a week, but I feel the vastness of our temporal rift gnawing at my heart; o’ how I long for your presence! Regardless, whilst I wander here, discovering the magics of the glorious future, allow me to paint you its portrait.

Imagine, with considerable suspension of thy disbelief, the reality of our successors…

The towns spread farther than the horizon, and the houses have morphed into immense grey columns reaching out into the heavens! My feet have forgotten the soft, English dirt – the grounds are covered by bricks or by a black expanse. Townsfolk ride in carts with no horses. (Perhaps they trapped the ponies inside their contraptions?) Oh, but there’s more: Dragons are not mere myths fabricated by the village lunatics! They are gargantuan metal beasts with slender bodies and rigid, unflapping wings; they have been tamed and are flown by noblemen known as “airline pilots”.

And the food…

Oh Lord, the food! Evidently our kingdoms have become accepting of witches, for only they could conjure up the mountains of bread and potatoes and other edible paraphernalia in abundance here. Not only is sustenance plentiful – it explodes with flavours unknown. Some unignorable and fiery, others subtle and sweet.

Alas, no part of this futuristic extravaganza enthralls me as much as the familiar allure of books and scriptures that have found their way deep into our future. Particularly, the volumes composed by the scribes of generations to follow who write about our tales of love, bravery, and sacrifice. Sure, their views of Camelot and her people are flawed, but her spirit perseveres. More than that – WE persevere.

I am saddened by your physical absence, beloved Guinevere, but I am elated to tell you that you are still with me, and everyone else, in some manner of speaking. That being said, I still eagerly wait for Merlin to reunite us.

Yours – for all times,

Arthur