The First Time I Heard the Hull Sing

There’s a sound the ship makes when it cuts through heavy water at night. It’s not wind. Not waves. It’s deeper than that—like the ship itself is breathing. I remember standing alone at the crew deck railing, sleep-deprived and salt-drenched, feeling the ocean and the steel moving as one. That was the moment I realized I had stopped being a visitor. I was part of the vessel now. And it knew.

Salt in your lungs. Steel under your feet. That’s where it begins.