“The Swan That Refused to Drown”

The waters rise, but the swan does not sink.

Gliding across a flooded field under a storm-soaked sky, a bone-white swan drags behind it a torn and trailing veil—the veil of reality itself. Threads of illusion unravel in its wake, like fabric dissolving into memory. The ground beneath the water is lost, submerged beneath stormwater teal, but the swan moves with quiet purpose, each stroke of its wings a declaration of will.

Its feathers are damp with rain and light—soft blush rose at the tips, as if kissed by embers. But the true revelation lies below the surface.

In the reflection beneath the swan, its mirror form is not its own. A phoenix burns through the water—wings wide, flames rippling through the current instead of air. Fire within flood. Rebirth beneath ruin. The reflection is not an echo; it is truth unspoken.

This is the moment before the rise, before the ash becomes sky. The swan does not fly. Not yet. But it remembers how.

Symbolism:

The Swan: Graceful endurance, refusal to yield to despair

The Tattered Veil: The illusion of limitation, the false fabric of what "is"

Flooded Field: Emotional overwhelm, societal collapse, the washing away of past foundations

Phoenix Reflection: Hidden strength, inner fire, a destiny written in spirit rather than surface

Color Palette:

Bone White for purity, stoic resistance, and the sacred

Blush Rose for quiet emotion, potential, and divine femininity

Stormwater Teal for sorrow, transition, and deep intuitive force

• Paper thickness: 10.3 mil
• Paper weight: 189 g/m²
• Opacity: 94%
• ISO brightness: 104%
• Paper is sourced from Japan