Ponce de León

“I could do wonders if I didn't have a body. But the body grabs me, it slows me, it enslaves me.”

Our Ponce de León discovered the fountain of youth and drank of immortality in the waning moments of his life. In an instant, he became old forever—an 80-year old Spaniard who would continue to walk the earth for century after century after century, watching as coral foundations gave way to mangrove swamps, as swamps were drained and buildings were erected, as buildings decayed and swamps returned. Our Ponce de León is an immortal for whom time poses the greatest dilemma—it is a constant, a given, and his personal battle lies in trying to either arrest time entirely or to make the hands on his clock move ever faster. For Ponce de León, time is a problem of body, and only by escaping his container can he escape time itself.—B.R.