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Helping Hands
In the very beginning, the universe was full of emptiness. Nothing was alone. Nothing was full of his own Company. Over time, he learnt to swiftly transform. Sometimes, he took the shape of butterflies; but its most favored one was of a child.
Eventually, he grew tired of his loneliness, so he took it and made it into a woman of clay. As they weren’t able to part their lips to speak, he projected in the woman’s mind what he had imagined for centuries. He showed her walls you couldn’t see or feel, and others that would feel hard if hit, but soft when caressed. Then he imagined a meadow full of purple flowers. He gave her the most beautiful one, and she fell in love with their perfume.
This went on and on for years. He showed her seas, deserts and jungles. Still, the world felt incomplete, so she decorated his work with creatures: ones that could live in every scenario. When she was done, she looked at him and in the most serious manner she could muster she asked: “take me piece by piece. Take me as a whole, but oh, after what we’ve created, don’t you say you won’t take me at all. Use every bit of me to shape the world we’ve envisioned.
He took her hands, and shaped them as trees. Then he took her pupils, and turned them into the moon. He made stars out of her teeth, mountains out of her breasts and rivers from the strands of her hair. At last, when only her heart was left, he made the Sun. When only the creatures were missing, he used her breastmilk and made it rain on the world. Where the drops landed, an animal was born.
Some were smaller than others. Some could fly, run or swim. Some became predators, while others became prey, but a few of them decided to ally and live in relative harmony, such as the birds and the crocodiles.
One day, a crocodile paid a visit to a bird. It didn’t fear the crocodile, as they both knew the bird would fly away at the slightest suspicion. Besides, crocodiles only ate fish, right?
The crocodile said: “I’m sorry for bothering you, but I’m here to make you a proposal. As big as I am, I’m clumsy; but as little as you are, you are the most agile creature I’ve seen. If you help me to restore my health by cleaning my jaw, I’ll offer protection to you.”
“How could I trust you? For all I know you’d eat me.” Replied the bird.
The crocodile told her: “if I did, which I swear I won’t, you will use your peak to tear through my flesh and scape.”
To the bird agreed. The crocodile opened its mouth, and the bird almost fainted at the smell, so it grabbed a stick to clean its partner’s teeth. They did this regularly, until it became a twice-a-day routine. Because the leftovers of food were fresh, the bird ate them and grew to like them. Soon, every crocodile had a flying companion. The creatures found balance and lived happily in their great big home.
From above, Nothing smiled at the world, and the world smiled back.
