Ayesha Khan

Nadia Bozak

ENGL3915

Oct. 10, 2024

Darkness

In the beginning, there was darkness. I woke up in this darkness. I wasn’t born, I think I

was always there. Through the darkness, a massive light tore through and for the first time, I took

in my surroundings. All around me stretched a vast expanse of blue. I hadn’t seen it before but I

knew what it was. A formula which I had to complete. In the blink of an eye, millions of years

have passed. And now the oceans were filled with life. Thousands of tiny creatures and cells,

each with a will of their own, floated through the oceans, a universe within the universe. And I

felt them all. These creatures were a part of me and I felt a fervent attachment to them. For a

while, I could do nothing but watch, but soon I felt a strong need for these creatures to leave the

ripples of the ocean to evolve. I was always a very gentle being. I could not resist their desire to

be free. And so I freed them.

On the land, these creatures changed. They diverged from their aquatic ancestors, became

creatures of their own design. Over the course of centuries, limbs stretched, bones transformed,

many separated from the whole and became unique in their own right. The planet continued to

change, lands grew apart, some grew together. There was destruction, some creatures went

extint, but no matter what happened, my life continued. At times, I sheltered the creatures, fed

them, loved them but for the most part, they thrived on their own. In harmony, they understood

an order that was older than I. I’m aging but new life persists. I fear for a day I may no longer be
there to protect them. And as the earth reached a slow and gradual state of steady growth, I

became aware of a new presence.

They were once no different from the other creatures. But as I watched them grow,

creatures with neither claws nor excessive fur, I realized that there existed within them

something unlike anything I’ve ever seen. They possessed a curious ability, just like me, the

ability to reason, communicate and acquire knowledge unlike their counterparts. They struggled,

they persevered, they took care of one another. They gazed at the stars in wonder, brows

furrowed, eyes filled with helplessness and amazement. I couldn’t believe it. They searched for

their own origins. As I looked into their eyes, I was overcome with a gaping and consuming love

for them. I felt like they had seen me and I wanted desperately to answer their plea. You are not

alone, I cried at them. Though they could not hear me, and never did, I did feel that they were

aware of me.

As if they were infants, I devoted everything to them. I watched them take from me but

they always gave something back. As they advanced, I could feel them shouldering greater

responsibilities. They walked tall, spoke gently, and loved as deeply as I did. Their cities

stretched across the horizon, blinking lights against the blue expanse of sky. With deft hands,

they crafted ships that sailed across the oceans and ships that brought them towards the stars.

They dug through me and discovered ways to communicate over incredibly long distances. They

will carry me forward. I am getting old. I know my time here is coming to an end. But I feel

relief that there exists something which can inherit my duties.

Then came greed.

of progress. I watched in grief, in helplessness, as they slowly forgot where they came from,

taking advantage of me. I realized my mistake, I had spoiled them rotten. A haughty feeling of

self importance had emerged within them, causing them to believe they were no longer subject to

the same law as everything else. They grabbed hold of my body and drilled deep into me. What I

had given them wasn’t enough, they wanted more, more than I even had to give. Without any

care to what would happen to the other creatures under my protection, without any care, even, to

the others of their kind, they just took and simply consumed. They gave nothing back. They

fashioned parts of my body into weapons and used the weapons to enslave each other and other

creatures. And to enslave me.

I was betrayed and my hurt feelings soon turned to anger. My body became beset with a

sense of self-preservation. Almost unconsciously, Wrathful storms were wrenched out of me,

cracking their lands open, submerging their villages, anything to express my displeasure. I

harmed them, I harmed the other creatures, like a child, I lashed out. But their towers continued

to grow, billowing thick black smoke. Their wars continued, their slaughter continued, and their

colonies grew.

But their time would soon come to an end.

Greed and self-importance caused them to forget: only I exist forever. And to these

creatures, no longer would I provide. No longer would I shelter. No longer would I love. Soon,

they, too, went out, like the blinking lights they sent to circle planets in the zealous, but

ultimately false, attempt to go on forever. One by one, every sign of them vanished, completely

and utterly.
 Water stilled. A cloud passed over the sky. Something emerged from a blanket of dried

earth. Green and fluttering. I awoke once more, out of darkness and emptiness, into bright new

life.