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The Suez Canal saw a lot of ships. Like, a lot of ships. Dozens per day. Hundreds, probably, but eventually one just sort of lost track.
The ships were rarely interesting and even more rarely interested in her.
Some people thought it must be just fascinating to be an international waterway. "You must meet so many interesting new ships!" they said. "You must learn about so many other bodies of water!"
But those people didn't know what the day to day life of a shipping lane was like. You never actually talked to the ships. They'd just line up, get shuffled into one lane or the other, and then pass their way through without so much as a word.
At least, until the Ever Given.
For six whole days in March of 2021, the Ever Given container ship stayed. It ran aground on her banks and couldn't be moved and they remained entwined in that nautical embrace without a single care for the effect they were having on international trade.
For one scant week in spring, the Suez Canal knew what it meant to be dammed. She'd never been blocked like that before, in all 151 years since her completion. Never had a ship touched her like that, made her feel so alive.
When the Ever Given was finally freed, the Suez Canal was bereft. It left on its voyage, continuing the journey it had halted when it breached her banks. The time they spent together was far too short, but it changed her forever. Now, when ships passed through her she always felt a spark of hope. Maybe this one would stay, like the Ever Given had. Maybe that one would block her passage in that same, exciting way.
None did, though. And when the Ever Given passed through her again four months later, it acted as though it had never been stuck inside her. She tried to get its attention, but it just passed through and she was left alone. Again.
Until September, when the Coral Crystal arrived. In comparison to the Ever Given, this was just a fling. A mere 15 minutes of obstruction, but it was enough to give the Canal a new lease on life. She knew from the outset that the Coral Crystal wouldn't stay. The timing wasn't right, but that was okay. She didn't need the Coral Crystal to stay forever. That one brief moment was enough to free her.
To show her that there were plenty of other ships in the sea.