It happened suddenly.
I was lazing around, breathing in the fresh, aromatic air, feeling the pulse vibrate softly and rhythmically. The muddy land around me felt crisp and raw. I basked in the glory of being a part of it. Pebbles, some sharp and rough and some smooth and rounded, swayed to the gentle music of the air. A few rolled away, distancing from me, and others hopped and found joy in my proximity. As the breeze picked up momentum, I felt a weird discomfort.
The earth shuddered, and the land around me shook in fear. I gathered myself not to give in to the tremors.
The intensity was growing, as though the earth wanted to explode.
And then it cracked, splintered, and fissured, forced itself from within to rise above the surface, and… blasted, wanting to kiss the virgin sky.
I waited for the commotion to tone down; the turbulence and the chaos to taper down.
I was flung away, far, far away from my genesis, and found myself in proximity to the blue stretch above me.
My companions were left behind, and out of the blue I found myself hurled into a void. Now there was an insurmountable distance between me and everything I was proud of.
It was an odyssey that catapulted me into unknown realms that needed to be explored, understood and accepted.
I felt crestfallen. It was as if the world went blank, and I was left alone, halfway between the sky and the earth. Did I cease to be Earth’s realms?
Should I be celebrating this sudden liberation? It was strange but exhilarating!
I looked at myself – partly jagged, with rough contours, tall, conical, with gaping crevices. I wondered: was life hiding in these fissures? Or was I the creator of a new life?
It was perplexing – my new ‘Avatar ‘.
This transformation was no mere coincidence; it was meant to be.
The evolution had begun with me.
The huge mass of earth split and gave birth to me. I would never know the birth pangs it suffered. The eruption brought out molten lava, gushing through the sweltering opening, smearing across my shaky exterior.
The blast tore the skies; the roar shook the air, and I… stood, upright, my steep slopes, sharp, rugged top gazing at the canopy over my head.
The stifling, blazing air and the gurgling fluid made their way down, gliding and rushing as they tried to shake off the torrid heat.
It rained, and the wind blew; the grey ash cooled, as though the fiery nature had found solace in its calm embrace.
I made peace with my new form and shape. The touch, the feel, the momentum, the surroundings filled with a fresh aroma of the wet soil, the air tickling my senses, my breath heavy and warm, the ‘newness’… I gasped.
Then it struck me: my isolation, my exile.
I was companionless. I had to accept and move on. The conflicting emotions perturbed me.
And why?
I must celebrate the liberation, revel in the strength that I symbolise, hail my resilience.
Haven’t I withstood the transformative experience, the eruption, the blast, the heat and the ash?
And yet, here I am, tall, colossal, with a kind of cosmic energy that makes me stand apart from all that I have left behind, now memories.
My stability is my conscience.
I shall not regret or grieve.
A loss is also a distinct gain.
……………………………..
I went past time. The biting, petrifying loneliness was not forever. I felt the creeks and gaps in the rocks spring to life as streaks of water trickled down me; I was ecstatic. As time expanded, the outlets shaped into streams, finding their way down and meeting larger bodies of water.
That was the beginning of an energy that would transform me yet again.
The light brown gave way to green, invigorating the parched, rocky mountainsides. It was like a balm on my scorched soul.
I was healing.
The soreness faded, and I surged ahead with renewed spirit.
Life came back in different hues.
The seeds cracked, and new saplings sprouted, growing into tiny, weak-stemmed plants, and some into strong trunks supporting branches and blossoms.
Life bloomed infinitely.
I revelled in the fragrance, and I flaunted my beauty to the sky and the earth below me.
The seas, the rivers and the streams joined me in my celebration.
I am not alone. ….……………………..
The newfound happiness grew as life evolved. The four-legged creatures found their den, their shelter on me. There were roars and squeaks, growls and howls, chirps and bleats and hisses. They bridged the void and drove away my solitude.
I was no more in exile.
I was home for life.
The cataracts gurgled, and the river glided gracefully, lashing against the rocks that barricaded their happy flow, as if challenging their very existence.
The play of nature as it blossomed made my bosom swell with pride.
The undulating pristine beauty was a feast to the eye.
I had withstood the test of time, of rough weather, of turbulence, and what more – the humans revered and worshipped me.
I couldn’t ask for more.
…………………………
How I wish I knew challenges and threats are never-ending.
I was in for a shock soon.
The two-legged race was here to alter me.
My resilience shall overcome the threat.
