The Story of You

For a while, after you are born, you know nothing but darkness. You can’t even comprehend anything else because this is all you have ever experienced. Even though you have no concept of time, a few days pass before you see light for the first time. You don’t see everything or anything in particular, but a soft, red, earthy glow. As the days go by you feel yourself pushing towards the source of the glow. You feel less resistance as your body unfurls and the matter around you gives way until finally, you break free. Tall grass surrounds you, still blocking the source of light. Large shadows occasionally move around as you feel the earth shift. The light source seems to move further away as everything grows darker around you. No, you think, I don’t want to go back to the darkness. You like the warmth, you thrive off it. You feed on it. Darkness is almost completely around you and you feel the night chill set in. You wait in the darkness. The shadows eventually retire and the light returns. You feel strong again. Then the cycle repeats. You now have a vague concept of time. Many more cycles pass by before you finally see the source of the light - the sun. You feel its direct warmth and it invigorates you, pushing you to be taller, stronger. More cycles pass again until you finally break free from the tall grass. The uppermost part of your body takes in the great expanse before you. Rolling golden hills of grass spread in every direction, occasionally scattered with trees of all shapes and sizes. There is also a structure nearby, midway between yourself and the nearest hill where the sun touches the land, just before the darkness. Sometime later, two figures move towards you, one taller than the other. A mother and a daughter. They begin to move past you, but Daughter sees you and advances quickly in your direction. She looms over you, points and smiles. Mother joins her, says something, and they both smile at each other. Your only company besides the tall, yellow grass leaves you, heading back towards their structure. Soon after, when the sun is high above you, the two figures return. This time, however, Mother is holding something. They move close to you, hold the item between them, and carefully tilt it towards you. You are stunned at how wonderful you feel, droplets of water glistening in the sun trickle down your body. You soak it in and feel it energising and revitalising your entire being. You stand taller than ever before, spread yourself further. Then they are gone.

-

Cycles come and go. Nights and days pass. You grow, and so does Daughter. Mother stays the same. They visit you almost every day at first. Sometimes together, sometimes just one, but always bringing that glorious water. On a few occasions, they sit beside you to eat and smile and laugh. After a time, Mother and Daughter stop coming as frequently. You miss them, but it doesn’t matter as much now because you are stronger than before.

-

Seasons come and go, the harsh beating of the sun, and the cold dark days of rain and shadows. Cycles begin to merge, until one day, Daughter is taller than Mother and you are taller than both. By this time they have stopped bringing you water altogether. Instead, they invite more people to sit around you to eat and smile and laugh. Sometimes they decorate you, circle and drape you with string that lights the night around you with its technicoloured glow. More seasons pass, almost as quickly as the cycles used to.

-

You stand tall and proud, casting a shadow on your scattered fruits below. Every season you feel heavier than before, but as the fruit fall you feel lighter with each passing day. The sun is touching the hill when you see Daughter. It has been too long, you think. But something is different this time. Most of her life you have known her, and she has always held her head high and smiled. Now she cowers toward the ground as she rushes towards you and collapses against your body. She heaves with every ragged breath and you feel the water that is streaming from her eyes onto your body. But this water feels different from any other. The shadows had fallen long before she stirred. She stands, places one hand lightly upon you, and the next moment, she is gone.

-

It feels like no time at all has passed before Daughter returns again. This time carrying something you’ve never seen. It is, however, similar in shape to your oblong fruits; large and bulbous at the base, then tapers toward a thinner, still round top. She sits calmly beside you and places the object on the ground, leaving one hand resting on its shiny, smooth surface. You watch as she breathes deeply several times, holds her breath, then picks up the object again to hold it close. You see her body convulse and heave like it did the last time you saw her. She sits with you for a while longer. Finally, without warning, she stands, unscrews the top and pours the contents into the gently wafting breeze. At first, you think it is just like when Mother and Daughter poured water on you, but the contents are dull and grey, not crisp and clear. You realise it is something completely different as you both watch it float with the wind and dissipate until it is no longer visible. Daughter replaces the lid and walks away. That was the last time you saw Daughter in a very long time.

-

Three figures approach you. One is Daughter, one has a similar build to daughter, but not quite the same, and the last looks similar to how Daughter used to. They stand in front of you, and Daughter points. They all smile and gather close together so Daughter and The Other can embrace The Little One. Now Little One points to you, Daughter nods and Little One runs straight at you, grabs a low hanging fruit and immediately begins to feast on it. Upon her moving closer, you realise that Little one is not just similar to Daughter from an age ago, she is exactly like Daughter in almost every way. The other two also move closer and retrieve their own fruit, then you realise they are both behaving like Mother used to. Both New Mothers watch New Daughter run around until all three are running, chasing, stumbling and falling into a heap under your shade. They lean against you until the sun finally touches the hill. Eating. Smiling. Laughing.