Forming Continents

When the World was still new, the Water covered the Land and the Sky hovered above. You see, the Water and Land were in love and couldn’t bear to be separated. The Sky was, of course, jealous. It envied their relationship, so much so that it began a plot to tear them apart.

“Hello, Water,” it whispered one early morning before the Land had woken up.

“Hello, Sky,” the Water yawned.

“I think it would be nice if there was more to this World than just the three of us. I had a dream that the Land and I touched and a new thing came to be. Could you recede your waters to see if it will happen?”

The Water was hesitant but relented, pulling back a small bit of itself the expose part of the Land. The Sky reached down to meet the Land and just as the Sky had said, a tree began to grow.

“How wonderful!” the Water rejoiced.

The Land was woken by the cheer and saw the tree. “What is this?” it asked warily.

“The Sky had a dream that if I pulled back, something new would come into the World and it did!” the Water explained.

The Land nodded. “I will miss your touch, but I see that what has happened is good and makes you happy.”

The Sky smiled, seeing that its plot had worked. It continued with its plan, asking the Water to recede every now and again. Each time, a new plant or animal would come to be, and each time, the Water would be joyful and the Land would simply repeat “I will miss your touch, but I see that what has happened is good and makes you happy.” After a time, a large swath of the Land was no longer touching the Water. It was so large that the Water could no longer see the center of it.

“I wish I could still see all of the wonderful things that you and Sky have created,” the Water said to the Land.

“Maybe you could cover the center and that way you can see what we have made,” the Land suggested.

The Water tried to do this, and a great geyser shot out from the exposed ground. The animals nearby were frightened and ran away and the plants were flooded and died.

The Sky saw what the Water had done and became angry. “Look at the destruction you have caused! You have ruined our creation! It would be better if you weren’t covering the Land at all,” it said.

The Water turned to the Land. “Do you feel this way, too?” it asked.

The Land could not argue with the Sky’s logic. The Land was also angry that its creation had been destroyed by the Water, so it stayed silent. So the Water receded, only touching a small part of the Land. The Sky was pleased, seeing that its plot had succeeded.

After a time, the ground began to dry up and the animals and plants on the far side of the Land began to die. The Land realized that the wonderful things it and the Sky had created needed the Water to survive as well. The Land tried many times to talk to the Water and ask it to cover the Land again, but the Water stayed silent.

“Sky, you must talk to the Water and ask it to cover me again,” the Land said.

The Sky was angry and answered “We don’t need the Water. I worked so hard to get it to go away so that you and I could be together. Look at all the amazing things we have done without it!”

Realizing that they had been tricked, the Land let out a great cry and the ground began to shake. The Land broke itself apart, scattering its pieces into the Water.

“I am sorry,” the Land wailed to the Water. “The Sky turned us against each other, but I need you. I miss your touch and I want to see you happy.”

After a moment, the Water embraced the Land once again, only covering enough of it to provide for its creations and so that it could see the center of the exposed ground. The animals and plants began to thrive once again and the Water was delighted by watching them. These were the first continents.

Every so often, the Land reaches out to the Water and the Water reaches back, forming islands as they slowly reconcile. One day, the Water will cover the Land, just as it did before.