The Woman Before Time

Before the existence of time there was nothing. No light, no dark – not even the faintest glimmer of the life every breathing creature knew so deeply within. The only thing that could ever have been witnessed was nothing but emptiness, a deep abyss so impenetrable that it seemed not a single thing could ever truly begin to exist within its murky depths. It was an infinity of nothings, that stretched beyond what would later be called the horizon – even if that in itself was an abstract concept not one creature may ever be able to fully understand.

But, then something stirred.

It shouldn’t have been there, nothing should. For as the emptiness consumed and conquered; there was one thing that existed against all odds and logic. A creature so ancient and powerful that even the endless bout of timelessness could not account for it.

Her.

And as her slumber began to lighten and her body grew restless, it was inherently clear that this time of neutral Havana would forever be changed in that single moment. An arm moved positions and the wind came into being, shifting, twisting and burning into the unfathomable pit of blank possibilities. A leg shifted, and on came the blistering heat of a thousand suns all at once; allowing the notion of being indescribably cold to exist, as now, it was wonderfully clear those words were the only possible way to describe what had come before that moment. And there was another new word.

Before.

In the moment that word came into being, time began. It flourished and spread, giving way to possibilities and wonders that nothing ever in trillions of years could even begin to possibly fathom. It was exciting and new and absolutely and astoundingly terrifying. The potential became so intense that it caused the woman to turn over in seemingly phantom pain that blazed its fiery course through her veins, up her spine – until it finally made its way into her scull, setting it alight with its intense brilliance that devoured every single thing it touched with immense devastation and beginnings. She experienced such intense agony that she could no longer hold it in. Her mind became alight with activity. Then one small, barely significant thing happened. One small thing that changed everything forever.

She opened her eyes.

Then the light flooded in and the dark was no more.

Nothing seemed to happen at first, then the light began to swirl and spiral into one specific area; growing tighter and tighter and smaller and smaller until the pressure became far too much for the beams of illuminated beauty to hold. It buckled and swayed until finally, it let go, resulting in an explosion so enormous in magnitude that it would leave a scar in the universe forever, pinpointing eternally the moment it had been born.

The sun was the first thing to exist – a bright reminder of that first glimmer of the time that had now begun; that pure emptiness was no more. The light shone into the woman’s eyes, filling her with spirit, understanding and an innate need to protect and create all things beautiful in that glorious period in which time could finally exist. She held the sun in her hands, feeling its essence flow into her, illuminating herself with its power as it seeped vibrantly through her eyes and hands. She let go and released all of its powers.

The change was immediate.

Soon there were many bright lights in the sky that littered the darkness with hope in shining spectacle. She smiled knowing there was much to be achieved in this time, that everything that was to come would be incredibly crucial to the vision she now held within her very own mind. The woman lifted her arm and small rocks formed before her; pushing them together, she spun them with such a velocity it almost made her own self feel dizzy with its enormity. Once she was sure it would last forever, she let go and moved backwards, admiring the work she had done.

Oh, but there was still so much to do, and time suddenly didn’t seem to be moving fast enough for the plans she so wished to put into action.

So, as she willed, so it came.

Time sped by in a flurry of madness and vision. For in the few minutes the woman had waited, millions of years had passed by in the universe that was once nothing but void. Planets of volcanic chemistry and molten surfaces littered the space in which she had created. Some were less volatile than others and were devoured by lustrous oceans that encased the entirety of their surface area. She found them all to be so beautiful, unique and magical in their own rights… but there was something missing.

One planet; new and forged in fire from birth, caught her ever keen eyes. She stared at it with curiosity, wondering why this particular one had seized her attention and enchanted her so deeply. It was no different from how the others had been at first, but it somehow lacked something. There was one thing this planet needed above all others, one thing to become and remain unique. Tilting her head in thought, the word finally came to her. A word that would only exist first on this planet, a planet she named Earth. It was the word to change all other words and give meaning where was previously assumed to be nought.

Life.

With that shining new and gorgeous word, the woman moved behind a planet she had long since forgotten about and blew a gale so strong it sent the potential world hurtling towards the planet known as Earth. The course was permanent and fixed as now, nothing would ever stop that magical word from becoming something undeniably real and tangible.

In those few moments the planet crashed into the Earth, knocking it on it axis and leaving parts of it to splinter outwards into the endless expanse of space that housed everything that ever was, is and will be. The other planet broke into shards, splintering of into the horizon where it would once more father life within the universe; far, far away from the life that would now begin to flourish on Earth.

The woman smiled, waved her hand and once more, time flew by for her. Whilst the universe had to take time as it was intended; slow, tedious, rewarding, the woman swam in her very own steam of time, that conformed to her very will and thought. Seconds to her were millions of years to all other things in existence.

And millions of years had passed.

For as she gazed upon the planet Earth once more, no longer was it a barren wasteland of fire and brimstone, magma and earthquakes; but a blooming sensation of greenery and light, oceans and land, all under the watchful eye of the smaller planet that occupied Earths orbit, a world she called, Moon.

It was all as she intended, all she had planned, all she had strived for.

But, she had to witness it for herself.

And so, the woman travelled to the Earth, becoming smaller and smaller the closer she came to the surface and when she landed, it was more than she could ever have hoped to dream of. For as she took mortal form, she felt it. The grass that comfortably and gently sat between her toes, the trees that sprung so impossibly upwards from the ground and shot into the sky just as asteroids had propelled inwards to form the very planet they lived, just beyond the blue above. The cool water left a gentle breeze to flow over towards the woman, filling her lungs with the sweetest taste of all. A taste she would never forget or even begin to have her fill of. Purpose coursed though her, igniting her soul and mind. She was insatiable.

Yes, this was what life was meant to feel like.

And, she realised, with indescribable surprise that she did not want to leave. The universe would survive without her; the planets, stars and life that was to come would all find the correct path with her, or in her absence.

But, this feeling was much too euphoric to let go of, so much so that the mere thought of leaving felt as if she were tearing her own heart viciously from her chest. And so, she would stay and watch over Earth and witness what was to happen – to live among the creatures that thrived.

She would experience everything, because after all what is life without first living?