Page 1

It is a calm winter morning in Halifax Harbour. Ships rock gently in the early sunlight while townspeople begin their day. Clara, a young nurse, cycles to the hospital with her lunch tin, smiling at the crisp air. Down at the docks, a cheerful worker named Liam jokes with his friends as they unload supplies.
Out in the harbor, two ships slowly move toward each other—the Norwegian ship Imo and the French munitions ship Mont-Blanc. On board the Mont-Blanc, crewmen shout warnings as they realize too late they are on a collision course. With a thunderous CRASH, the ships strike. A small fire breaks out on the deck of the Mont-Blanc. Smoke begins to rise into the cold sky.

 

Page 2

Crowds gather along the waterfront, watching the burning ship. Liam drops his tools and runs closer, shouting for help as people point and whisper. From the hospital window, Clara sees the dark plume of smoke and frowns.
Children in the street laugh and point—fascinated by the flames dancing on the ship. Firefighters rush down the hill toward the docks, unaware of what the vessel is carrying.
On board, Captain LeBlanc yells desperately to his men to abandon ship. “She’s going to blow!” he cries.
A second later, a blinding white light engulfs the harbor. The air splits apart with a sound like the sky itself breaking—KAA-BOOOM!

 

Page 3

For a moment, there is nothing but silence. The entire city is white.
When the light fades, Halifax is gone. Buildings lie in splinters. Clara opens her eyes beneath a collapsed ceiling, dust and glass all around her. Her ears ring. She calls out weakly, “Hello? Can anyone hear me?”
Liam awakens near the docks, his face covered in ash. He stumbles through the wreckage, searching for anyone alive. The once-busy streets are reduced to a field of smoke and ruin. Clara crawls out from the debris, bleeding from a cut on her forehead, staring at what used to be her hospital.
The harbor burns in the distance, ships overturned, fire everywhere. The world has changed in an instant.

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Page 4

Clara hears a faint cry and rushes toward it. A small boy is trapped under a beam. She kneels beside him, whispering gently, “It’s okay. I’m here.” As she tries to lift the beam, a figure limps toward her—it’s Liam, bruised but alive.
“You’re the nurse from the hospital, right?” he asks breathlessly. Clara nods. “We have to find shelter,” she says.
Together they pull the boy free and carry him through the wreckage, searching for survivors. They find a broken wagon and use it to transport the injured toward a half-standing church. Inside, Clara quickly sets up a makeshift aid station. Liam brings in blankets, water, and whatever he can salvage. The church fills with wounded townspeople. Clara takes a deep breath and begins to bandage wounds, her hands shaking but steady. Hope, fragile but real, begins to flicker among the ruins.

 

Page 5

Throughout the day, Clara and Liam work without rest. Liam digs through the rubble with his bare hands, shouting when he finds someone alive. Clara rushes over with water and cloth, cleaning wounds and comforting the frightened.
Soldiers and sailors soon arrive to help, their uniforms stained with smoke. Captain LeBlanc, injured but alive, is carried in on a stretcher. “I tried to warn them,” he mutters, guilt heavy in his voice.
Clara kneels beside him. “You did what you could,” she says softly. Outside, fires still burn as the sun sets over a city of ashes. But people keep moving, keep helping. The will to survive is stronger than the explosion that tried to end them.

 

Page 6

That night, a telegraph operator finally restores a line and sends a desperate message: “Halifax destroyed. Need help immediately.”
Miles away, the message reaches Boston. Relief trains are loaded with doctors, nurses, and supplies. Back in Halifax, Clara stands by the tracks as the first train arrives. Liam helps unload crates marked FROM BOSTON. “Didn’t think strangers would come all this way,” he says quietly.
Clara smiles tiredly. “Sometimes kindness travels faster than trains.”
They sit together near a lantern, surrounded by silence and rubble, sharing a piece of bread as the wind howls outside.

 

Page 7

Months pass. The snow melts, and construction begins. Liam now works with the rebuilding crew, hammering planks and raising new walls. Clara helps open a small clinic for the children who lost their families.
A memorial takes shape on the hill overlooking the harbor. “In memory of those we lost,” the stone reads.
One evening, Clara walks to the docks and finds Liam gazing at the sunset. “Feels like a new city,” he says.
She smiles. “Because of people like you.”
They stand together, the water calm again, the sound of rebuilding echoing through the streets.

 

Page 8

Years later, Halifax shines once more. Modern buildings line the same harbor that once burned. A crowd gathers at the memorial every December 6th. A plaque reads: “In memory of those lost, and those who rebuilt.”
Among the visitors, an elderly woman places a small locket on the stone. Inside is a faded photograph—Clara and Liam, smiling by the harbor.
The camera pans out to the calm ocean. The water glitters peacefully under the sun.
Narration: “From ashes, we rise.”