Moral of the Mythology

Elemental

Andalyn Bray, Class of 2025

Long, long ago, there was nothing. Not the universe, not the stars, nor the dust between them. But, with one fellow swoop, the elements came into being. First came Fire. As the oldest, Fire was the most powerful. Above all, Fire unwaveringly believed in the freedom of chaos.
Fire first created the sun, the center of the universe, where she would sit and watch over her creation. Fire provided light to all the world, all her stars, all her universes, but the sun had always been her favorite. It was not the smallest star, nor was it the largest, but she rather enjoyed it nonetheless.
One day, standing atop the sun, Fire found herself looking out at her creation like she had for billions of years, making sure the stars were never stationary, exploding and colliding occasionally and getting sucked into a black hole or two every now and then, doing her job. On this particular day, Fire found herself with a strange new sensation. She defined it as ‘lonesome.’
So Fire brought forth Earth, who suggested that there be some order to the chaos that of the stars. “I promise to create for you, life. A fantastical thing that will depend on your light for survival each and every day.” said Earth, a very steadfast and wise spirit .
That sounded quite nice to Fire, so she agreed and together, Earth and Fire created the seven planets; Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Sadly, they were just mere bits of rock and fiery cores floating aimlessly through time and space. Fire looked to Earth and said, “I am quite proud of you, but I feel the need to create just one more planet. It shall be where I host my life. The only place compatible with it! I shall call it Earth, after you, my first.” said Fire.
“It is not finished, I do not believe that you and I alone can accomplish life, we need another.” said Earth to Fire.
Fire contemplated this, stroking her molten chin with one hand in thought. Fire sighed a scalding gust of heat she later named a “solar flare.” And so Fire created Air, very talkative little thing that went busily about her work like any good worker, this pleased Fire greatly.
Air created great atmospheres around each of the planets, each of them slightly different, she was determined to create diversity among the planets. When she had finished she jumped up and down in the air in excitement.
“It is coming together! I can feel a new type of energy circulating us!” Air exclaimed.
Fire looked down at their creation, still unsatisfied. “Hmm, something is missing. I am looking at my planets and they are all perfect, all accept for Earth. It is so boring, so lifeless. What am I missing?” she consulted with her sisters.
And then it hit her, she needed one more element. And so she called upon Water, a very free spirit, to all of the planets she and Earth had created. Water was the youngest of them all, so she decided to do so on her own time. Needless to say, Water procrastinated so much she was only able to reach Mars before her deadline.
Fire fumed at Water’s laziness, scolding her for her foolishness. “We must create life! And you give me a red planet with a drop of water on it? It was not Mars I told you to fill with water but Earth! What am I supposed to do with this?”
“It’s not my fault! Any closer to your sun and with all its heat I would disappear, any farther and I would freeze.” Water protested.
“I need there to be life, and life requires water in this system of planets. You had one job and you’ve botched it!” Fire was so furious she sent Water to the planet Earth to settle her duties there on her own.
When Water landed on the barren wasteland that was Earth, she began to weep. She wept and wept day after day for years. Her tears became the oceans of Earth, giant salted pools of water.
Upon hearing about this, Fire was even more enraged than before. “I SENT YOU HERE TO FIX YOUR MISTAKES NOT TO CREATE MORE! MY EARTH! YOU’VE RUINED IT! MORE THAN HALF OF IT IS WATER YOU SELFISH SELFISH SPIRIT!!” Fire roared, she became so worked up that the sun flamed with her, spreading a great amount of heat all over earth and creating so much pressure between the earth, air, and salted water that giant heaping clouds formed.
The clouds billowed high to the heavens. Filled with the steam and fumes of all of Fire’s rage. Until suddenly the clouds went from white to a dark and nearly black grey. Bellies of the clouds swelled blocking the sun and creating a new energy.
With a thunderous boom the clouds roared with the echoes of frustrations. Then sparks flashed and bolts of lightning electrified the sky. Then the clouds finally burst forth a new and refreshing version of Water. She poured and poured. Together, Fire, Earth, Air, and Water released all of their tension and the rain washed over them all. Cooling them. Soothing them.
After the rain fell silent, the clouds parted. The sun came back with a new and warm light. Water was proud of her newly formed rivers and lakes. Fire was dazzled by the way the sun sparkled on the salty oceans and pure creeks. Air loved making wind and storms and gentle breezes. Finally in all their peace and harmony, with the exposed land and the atmosphere and the water leftover on the earth not covered in water, the very first sprout came to life. The first life, a small and tender daisy.
Fire gasped, all of the elements knew it, felt it, saw it. Her rage had long faded to a mere humming in the background of her mind. “Life.” she breathed.
Fire looked to Earth, to Air, to Water. She furrowed her brow and thought. “Without you,” she bent down to peer at the flower, careful not to get too close as to scorch it, “this would not be possible. I was not grateful to you when I should have been. Especially you, Water, you’ve done a splendid job, we have created life, and I would not have accomplished this alone. Not in all my existence.”
THE END