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Chapter 07 / 09 · Mea’s notebook

The Netherlands

A wider line

The Netherlands — Mea Zen’s illustrated journey

I once believed a journey had to move forward to count. The canals were unconvinced. They invited me to cross, turn back and see the same corner from the other side.

At the beach I watched a line that never arrived. It was simply there, farther than my plans. I tried drawing it without making it into a boundary.

The line stayed a little crooked. That was the first version I trusted.

An imagined travel diary inspired by original Travel2City photographs. Mea’s scenes and words are a creative interpretation, not a documentary account.

01

Crossing back

Amsterdam — illustrated scene with Mea Zen
01
Amsterdam

The canal took the long view. I crossed the bridge twice.

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Amsterdam — illustrated scene with Mea Zen
02
Amsterdam

A house could float and still be a place to come home to.

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Amsterdam — illustrated scene with Mea Zen
03
Amsterdam

I followed the water until I forgot to check the time.

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Middelburg — illustrated scene with Mea Zen
04
Middelburg

The street turned. I was finally comfortable with that.

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02

The horizon does not close

Middelburg — illustrated scene with Mea Zen
05
Middelburg

Red shutters. Pale stone. A perfectly good reason to stop.

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Middelburg — illustrated scene with Mea Zen
06
Middelburg

I left the drawing unfinished and took the feeling with me.

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Zandvoort — illustrated scene with Mea Zen
07
Zandvoort

The horizon was a line that refused to become a border.

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Zandvoort — illustrated scene with Mea Zen
08
Zandvoort

I let it run right off the page.

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