This week's episode features "The Rocks," a nautical tale of stoicism and faith in the face of a withering storm set in the 17th century.

This story was written for the Vocal Painted Prose challenge and placed 2nd overall. As part of the challenge, "The Rocks" is based off a real painting: Ships in Distress off a Rocky Coast by Ludolf Backhuysen (1667). The author was lucky enough to see this composition in the National Gallery of Art back in 2015, and eight years later knew instantly what piece his story would take its inspiration from. You can view the full painting as well as the episode transcript on Vocal: https://vocal.media/art/the-rocks-knqz0vem

Cover photo is a cropped excerpt of the painting by Ludolf Backhuysen, which is in the public domain.