Nicky catches up—and the scene beyond her guide erupts into view, sudden and vast, pushing forth to meet her even as she approaches. This is a slow-motion moment, she thinks: the ocean waves, chapped with sunlight, green-screen pristine; the scuffed clouds floating above them, plump enough to pinch; and below, just over the edge of the wall, a steep cascade of rock that topples into the boiling surf. All clear and sharp as though engraved.
