At first, there was only the Sun. Shining brightly, he illuminated powerfully in space. Sun knew he was a burning ball of gas…too hot to ever be touched. He constantly moved in a circle. Steady, slow, and consistent, Sun would go on his circular journey only to find himself right at the beginning where he started. Sun had one big flaw: by the time he reached his original starting point, he had forgotten all that happened on his prior trip. His journey was too far, too long, too tiring… and so he would forget.
And yet he yielded the power of creation.
At first, Sun wanted nothing more than to see the beauty of land that would not be too hot to touch. He created land, simple, luxurious land. He created land that was far from him, icy and frozen over. He created land that was near to him, burning and boiling over in magma. He then created Earth, at which he marveled. Earth was not like his other creations. It was neither too hot nor too cold. This arbitrary sweet spot allowed for the land to be truly extraordinary. Mountains basked in his heat as they stood proudly. The ocean lapped and crashed in its penetrable dance. Rivers meandered, sand dunes rolled along, and beaches served as the bridge between the salty ocean and the solid land. To Sun, Earth was special for every time she twirled she revealed a new aspect of her beauty.
It was many rotations before Sun got the creeping feeling that something was missing. Loneliness tugged at him. No matter the beauty of the land, something was missing. Sun got nervous, and sad for his masterpiece could not be appreciated. In his sadness, Sun let himself cry. To his amazement, his tears landed on Earth in the form of rain and clouds. The water from the rain was not like any other. It came from Sun’s heart and was thus pure, untainted by grime and saltiness as the ocean’s water. Out of the purity of the teardrops came about life in the form of plants. All types of plants. Budding flowers, tiny leaves, and stems strengthened themselves from the land’s soil, Sun’s tears, and the light and energy Sun shone down onto Earth.
“Plants, you are a miracle,” Sun cooed in admiration.
Silence.
“Flowers? Trees? Can you hear me? Speak to me my creations.”
Silence.
Sun then understood. They were not truly creations of his own. Their beginnings stemmed from the purity of his tears, the richness of the land, and the love he basked down onto them. While they were alive, he could not hear them. Empathetic to their inability to understand one another, Sun created Wind. He could not understand Wind either, but he created Wind to have a rather simple purpose: to carry and relay the messages of wants, interests, and desires of the plants from one to the other. Help them recreate by spreading their seeds, and their whispers for one another.
While plants and land were relished in their beauty, Sun still felt the tug of loneliness in his heart. He would marvel at their beauty as tears continued to gently fall. Sun decided he would create life that he could talk to. He created animals, sustained by the plants and the flesh of one another. And how exquisite they were. From the bouldering elephant to the meek gerbil— animals, in their own right, too were truly incredible.
“Welcome to Earth,” Sun said.
“Thank you. We are indebted to you for our creation,” cooed an owl.
“Nonsense. You will from now only be born from one another. You will live forever just like myself. I am no longer your creator, I am your friend. Animals, would you like to be my friend?”
An array of noises across Earth barked, howled, mooed, roared, and bellowed in agreement. Sun’s heart became full. As the days went on, Sun got to know the various animals he created.
One day, a thieving fox asked Sun why the female fox he stole food for would not let him be her mate.
To this, Sun replied, “Things that are stolen will never really make you rich.”
“How knowledgable. Thank you, my friend!” said the fox.
Another day, the mocking hyena asked Sun why it was difficult for him to get along with the other members of its pack.
To this, Sun replied, “Those who laugh at other’s mistakes often make the same mistakes themselves.”
“How knowledgable. Thank you, my friend!” said the hyena.
Another day went by, and the sluggish sloth asked Sun why when he woke up, most of the leaves on his tree had already been eaten.
To this, Sun replied, “An ant on its feet can do more than an elephant lying down.”
“How knowledgable. Thank you, my friend!” said the sloth.
And so the cycle continued. Sun loved his exchanges with the animals. They soon began to reproduce, leaving less and less space for each on Earth. Sun did not mind, for his heart was full. He finally had friends, companions, he could impart his never-ending wisdom and, for once, he felt sincerely happy.
Sun was so happy he no longer cried. Teardrops no longer watered the trees, the waterhole started to shallow, and the animals quickly began to starve. Fearful for their survival, while Sun was asleep the animals decided to host a meeting. The next morning arrived, and to Sun’s surprise, no animal spoke to him. They whispered and huddled about in hushed tones. Uncomfortable with the silence, Sun decided to wait. As hours went by the animals continued to have their backs faced toward Sun, and he began to worry. The looming feeling of loneliness began to creep back into Sun’s heart. Fearful of being alone again, Sun cried himself to sleep that night.
The following morning, the animals gazed up at Sun in awe. The purity of his teardrops had revitalized the trees. The waterhole was half full. The animals breathed their sighs of relief. They continued their relationship with Sun as though nothing happened. In response to the change in behavior toward him, Sun basked in the continuation of normalcy and decided to pretend as though the previous day did not occur as well.
As soon as Sun fell asleep, the long-legged spider got the nocturnal animals to wake those that had just laid their heads to rest. The spider gathered the animals around and spoke softly so as to not awaken Sun with its plan.
“Did you all see that?”
The animals nodded their heads in agreement, yet the spider decided to explain anyway.
“When Sun was sad, he cried. His teardrops rained down on this land, and our food and water came back. As unfortunate as it may be, it seems that Sun’s crying is the key to our survival. I think I have come up with a plan. We must ignore Sun from now on. We must begin to sever the ties of our friendships with him. It will not be easy, but it is what needs to be done. Any objections?”
The animals looked at one another in discomfort, sheepishly lowering their heads in reluctant agreement. And so it was decided.
The following day the animals lived as though Sun did not exist. They took care of their young, drank water, built shelter, and consumed their food. Sun assumed this day too was another fluke and went about his day only to be faced with the same treatment the following day. And the day after that. And the day after that. Unable to contain his resolve, Sun cried himself to sleep each night from then onward.
The animals happily nibbled on their leaves and sipped from the waterhole. As time proceeded like this, the animals, forever aging and ever-populating, started to outnumber the trees. Mothers and fathers of their recently-born young started to get nervous. The nightly rain was not enough to sustain their expanding family.
One day, the father fox yelled loudly. “Hey, Sun!”
The hyena turned away from his newly starving baby and paid attention.
Sun couldn’t contain his excitement. He was finally being spoken to!
“Fox! My friend! How are you?” Sun beamed.
“I am not well. I got to thinking…you really are too hot. You could never have a partner, you’re too hot!” Each of fox’s words stole Sun’s happiness.
“HA HA HA HA HA!” Hyena laughed as he mimicked the Sun’s stillness.
The sloth put down his starving child, fully understanding the plan. “Sun who? Who even needs a Sun? I sleep for most of the time he is out and I am just fine!”
The other animals with rumbling bellies joined in on the taunting, mocking, and belittling. Heartbroken, Sun began to cry. Fast, heavy raindrops began to pour down onto the animal’s bodies, yet they continued. Sun cried harder. Dark grey clouds loomed over the animals, blocking their view to Sun, yet they continued. Sun cried harder. Lightning struck the tallest, healthiest trees. The animals stepped back in fear. They were no longer taunting Sun, yet he continued to cry harder. The waves of the ocean created a tsunami over the beaches, and a flood of tears crashed and bouldered through the once beautiful lands of Earth…wiping all of the animals away to their last breaths.
Sun eventually calmed himself.
He saw the wreckage of his sorrows. The floods eroded valleys into the mountains and the once alive and green plants laid drowned and toppled. Sun decided companionship was not for him.
For many years after he let Earth dry up. Riverbeds became wadis, waterholes indented wastelands.
Despite his best efforts, Sun’s flaw nagged at him. He began to forget the pain he endured and the desire for a friend gradually returned to its seat in his heart. In his loneliness, he once again cried. His tears once again created plants, where Wind was eager to return to its original purpose. Sun decided he would create animals again. He couldn’t remember why he got rid of them in the first place, but he remembered that something went wrong. He remembered he would need to do things differently this time. His heart reminded him of their greed and rejection of him. His heart also reminded him of their wits and beauty. Sun created animals again, from the thieving fox to the laughing hyena, to the lazy sloth.
This time, their lives came at a cost: mortality. They would also be cursed with the inability to remember their loved ones after enough generations have passed. They could no longer take over the lands of Earth entirely… Sun hoped that would suppress their greed. Sun decided he no longer wanted to be able to speak with the animals either, for being able to understand them gave them the power to hurt him again, and he could not let that happen.
As the days went by Sun looked down on the animals as their creator, and nothing more. Through this hierarchy, he wept from time to time for the space in his heart would never be filled.
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