|
Member
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 3
|
Ocean of Worlds
Ocean of Worlds
By: Brendan York
I moved around as nothing but a mere silhouette amidst destruction. What could be said? There wasn’t anything—even the stars were too faint. Slowly, with uneasy graduation, I became surrounded by the eventual darkness. As a being, I was completely alone. I made my way, wading through the shore towards a large and elaborate peak. There, I decided, was where I would gather my energy—the sunlight would revive me. I would take in the rock and heal my wounds. I knew that I would have to complete my journey, one day.
After laying in the sunlight for the longest time, my sight was restored and I was revived to a new life. I glanced over myself quickly; I was at full strength. All was well, except that my timekeeper must have been damaged before—it read a time too short. No, the stars have moved too far since then; the peak is much too different. The timekeeper must have stopped for some time, and only started working recently. I looked across the horizon, yet saw no anomaly. What was it that I had experienced?
I screamed in all directions, throughout all the levels of the ocean, “Can anybody help me?” Nobody could hear my voice. My echoes would ring throughout the skies, and dissipate into nothing— there was no sign I was here. But something was wrong. The landscape was so different! The sun, it has changed; it was burning me. How was this possible? How could the light that has nourished me for eons change so rapidly? Why has everything here changed so much since I fell asleep countless moments ago?
I started to move. Finally I heard a reply: “,” it rang. It pierced me. How could somebody talk like that? So low! So… quiet! I didn’t understand—but I didn’t have time to understand! I threw away all of my fears and ran as fast as I could across the water towards it. I could not move any longer; I was running so fast that the stars above me seemed to be moving along.
Finally, I reached the source of the noise; it was unfamiliar. I had never seen such a small object make such a big noise. I couldn’t believe that this was alive. Was it really talking to me? Out of nowhere, little latches appeared on the object. I didn’t understand the words, but its mind was almost telling me to grab on. I had no choice; I could rot here forever, or take the chance. I grabbed on, and as soon as I did—it began to pull me across the ocean! What fun this was! I hadn’t swum in such a long time!
In its wake, eventually, I let go and let the momentum pull me. I loved how the sky was streaming by, streaming forward, and streaming backwards. It was magical to feel the wind above me this way, at least once again. But suddenly and unexpectedly, I heard a faint cry. It rang like the object from before and appeared out of nothing.
It demanded in its foreign tone, similar to the object of before. But—it was different. It had a different shape, different colors and smelled much in a different way. What did it want? Could it want? Immediately, before I had the chance to inquire—however futile that may have been, I was thrown out of the wake. The drag of the ocean pulled me down, and eventually I stopped. I knew I would never see them again.
Longing for answers, I was adrift and desolated in the middle of a starry sea. This was how it always had been—this was my existence. Familiar questions flooded my mind: Why am I the only one here? Why is there none other like me? On my journey, I have met other beings. But their ways are so different—they frighten me. I have learnt no words to describe what makes me different. I am sole, I am the only—I can’t but drift. “But, I shouldn’t worry about that now,” I thought. I’ve had eternity to think about that. I must get to where I’m going—I must!
I screamed as loud as I could—I prayed for help! I looked in all directions, as far as I possibly could. There was no way I could be found here. The stars were foreign, and I do not know how long I was traveling in the wake. My timekeeper was broken; it still showed a time that was much too short. I hastened my breath; it was very cold. I was far, far away from heat. Where I was, there would never be sunlight. Eventually, I would cease and float eternally.
I must run—run again! I must drift and drift! I must not stay still! If it takes me one million life times, I will continue! I will freeze to death if only to be found. I must go as fast as I can—I must go forever.
“So short, so short, so short! Nothing, nothing, nothing!” These words reverberated inside me as I drifted and drifted; I was so numb. What was once my greatest pride was reduced to a mindless repetition of words that had no more meaning. This must had been the longest I had ever drifted.
But, my time for waiting was over—the ocean is only so big. I could feel sunlight again. My body refilled with warmth, and my life was restored. What’s was this I smelled? It was far, far away; very strange, yet familiar. I had no choice but to approach. I had no energy to drift away, and no energy to not be curious. I drifted, drifted, and drifted, fell and crashed. I lost consciousness.
When I awakened, I was at the bottom of a great chasm. Millions and millions of tonnes of water were rushing in towards me. I had no idea what I caused, but I know that I damaged wherever it was that I was. Green algae had begun to grow on me. I have never seen such a thing. I was the host to new life. What an opportunity! I could have been there forever—though for all I knew, I was. With no timekeeper, words like eternity are meaningless...
Incandescent beads began to fall upon me. There were millions of them. I was submersed in a lake of frigid water, yet they were burning me! The pain was unimaginable. I couldn’t run, nor swim, nor move! I was melting into the ground. It seared me. I could never complete my journey this way. I would have been here until reality fades. I screamed so loud that I killed the life around me.
In a brief moment of enlightenment, I recalled my beginning. Through the destruction and utter chaos of shapeless nothing, I grew while the stars gained intensity. What was it that I experienced before? I don’t even remember a time when my timekeeper worked! How long has my journey been? What is "long?" When did it start? Why did I just say "when?" Was there before me? Is "before" even a word? I looked at my time keeper. Curious! It was working—but what was this? Time was up.
The life around me reborn, violently consumed me. I submitted my will. I forgot about the journey, and we became one.
Generations later, I am in every beast, and every plant. I encompass. My ruins sustain; I pass on. There is no escaping me. I’ve enriched all around me. To this day, you and I— we are one!
|
