Over a fortnight of ceaseless wandering through the mountainous terrain to reach the forest, the final leg of the journey, the blob felt a surge of ease when it encountered the first tree, marking the forest's entrance. The target time was approaching fast and still clueless about where to find the way-in, the blob sighed and moved deeper into the forest. Winter was around the bend and the forest floor covered in a thick debris of dead leaves made it impossible to be indistinct. Trying best not to draw any attention from the only ones that dared to venture in the dead of the night, the blob undulated swiftly on its belly, staying close to the ground as much as possible. The few moonbeams that succeeded through the thick foliage to touch the earth, provided guidance in the sheer darkness to the glassy yellow eyes. If one could look through those eyes, the world around would appear entirely different and boorish. The blob's dark waxy body slithered in a hurry on a mission to locate the portal that would bring it close enough to its person of interest.
Two moons ago , the blob was entrusted to this task and since then it had been tumultuous, preparing and setting upon the long journey. This mission was bestowed upon a select few from each of the elements and each one was sworn into secrecy. No one could know what was destined for that particular night. Even though the decision to select the set of custodians who will stand guard to the miracle was made many moons ago, it was only recently that the selections from specific domains were conducted, making the blob endure the hurried endeavor.
" It is fated I suppose or simply that those lazy rambling bunch of senile anthropoids suspended rationale. Now, I am obligated to complete the job under harsh circumstances." , the blob muttered under its breath.
It is believed that , a century in the past , a few clairvoyant leather back sea turtles, rose up from the ocean , amidst their migration , near to this gorge and forespoke of this night and of an egg and the birth and its consequences. No one could attest to this other than the one, whose credibility was indisputable. The warrior.
This night has been referred to as an eminent night essentially for the birthing. There is so much at stake. The selected custodians, the senile anthropoids, the leather back sea turtles, were all aware of that, well, except for the life in the egg. Everything depended on what form the life would choose to be born as. That in itself is a deciding factor. That simple election. And the name the new life form will be addressed with for eternity. This will bring into existence a new beginning, after the desolation.
In the dense forest, with time ticking, the yellow glassy eyes searched for the doorway in an urgency without fruition, peering into the darkness seeking the entryway to bring it closer to an egg nestled in the cleft of the jagged rock face.
About 10 miles away , at the other end of the forest , in the crevice of a tall rock, fencing the gorge, in the carefully constructed nest of rare plumes and pelage, lay an egg, the size of a large helmet. Smooth and bright it shone in the moonlight, this egg which held the most precious life . The life that would be anything it wanted to be. Possibility endless. A bird, a child, a hawk or a cactus. A monkey, a snake , a kangaroo or a shark. A flea, a grassblade , a microbe or a flower. Free of definition and free of constraints. If only this night passed without any mishap. This one night. An unusual symbolic night.
Without warning the winds picked up. On any other night it would have been pleasant but not this night. It had to pass uneventful. The blob trembled and gathered its waxy body close and began to look high and low for the gateway. After a long and vexatious exploration while making sure to be discreet, the blob found the portal, tucked away in the deepest darkest corner of a pitch black cave . The portal was standing apart like a sore thumb, glowing a pink brown luminescent sliver through the gaps . Feeling euphoric about the serendipitous discovery, the blob reached out to open the door to the gateway.. completely unnecessary! Apparently just touching the door was sufficient enough to be straight out sucked up like dirt by a vacuum pump into the brightness. This was first of its kind experience which caught the yellow glassy eyed blob totally unprepared making it dizzy and numb at the same time. Before long the uneven ground underneath bore into the underbelly of its body making it realize the proximity to the destination was considerably narrowed down. It formed a finger like protuberance to the wind whipping and whirling unceasingly to check the direction to head into. The night was festooned with the wind dancing an unhinged savage whirl ! The paradox of such a thing as a vital incident about to take place on an untamed evening was satirical.
Disliking the feeling of being whipped by the wind mercilessly , the blob rolled forward to get to the elusive hollow of the cliff, lodging the egg and guarding it. Soon the blob arrived at the cliff with an accomplished expression. The weight seemed to have lifted off from its flat dark waxy body with one final endeavor of witnessing the wondrous occurrence remaining.
Much like the blob, the last one to arrive, assembled at the site were the other entrusted custodians having had traveled from near and far.
A great big hawk circled the gorge and cliff, in the heavy wind, restless and watchful.
A woman dressed in an armor stood atop the gorge, her shield and sword in hands.
A giant turtle , perched on an unsmooth rock, having swum for twenty days and twenty nights to be here.
A wiry, translucent fire hung around neither on land nor in the air. It was the wisest one of all.
Each one of them, fitfully waiting for the egg to hatch. So it could be named, an apt name, which has already been decided by the prominent anthropoids who designated all of these custodians to come together tonight to rise to the occasion.
The blob could not help but acknowledge the company of the highly regarded representatives. The woman, majestically tall, alone she stood braving the wind, tireless and undefeated by the length of the night. Her slender, pale face with skin that showed signs of aging looked calm and poised. She has been known to have fought many battles waged by her own, exploited by the ones she sheltered but she always stood tall and proud. History has been witness to how she fought the contamination to her expanse or disruption of her incalescence or the biological warfare, the woman in the warrior suit, chose to be here tonight like the rest of us to perceive the miracle of continuum.
The night the leather backed turtles rose up, she had happened to listen, to the psychic, with faith and calmness. If the life in the egg does choose right, it could mean a whole new dawning. She had felt hopeful and confident. Tonight though, she maintained composure even with trepidation threatening to seep in, even with uneasiness lingering at the back of her head. After everything she withstood, all that she braved, for every battle she fought, this event should be elementary but it wasn't so. The inopportune annihilation that took place in the past left an incurable blemish inside of her.
The hawk , magnificent to watch , soared striving effortlessly through the outrageous currents, with eyes peeled, sharp and vigilant. He was as ancient as the earth. Almost archaic yet steady, obstinate, and grand, he was gliding on the rough winds, awaiting the arrival. He was the emperor of flyers, ruler of avians, master of the wind. He could have assigned this task to someone else but chose to be here instead . He once flew through the befouled air, uninhabitable skies, poisoned atmosphere and lived to tell. Hope didn't betray him . His brow furrowed in concentration as he circled the cliff.
The turtle on the rock , the one that predicted this birth, this event which would change our existence as we know it, was in attendance to behold the advent. He was not an oracle, prior to the prediction, he had never envisioned anything before. That one particular incident was an exception. He could have been snubbed but the warrior woman insisted the anthropoids to make note of the prophecy. As instructed it was and the custodians appointed. He had lived in hope to experience this night. He swam without rest for 20 days and nights, across three seas, so he can be here in time. The others of his clan had dissuaded him for he had lived long and was now in poor condition for his body turned toxic. He had a plastic ring around his flipper. He had lived for a hundred and eighty years and had experienced the slow extinction .Even then he was not perturbed.
The wise one was only a fiery soul, a relic , a chronicle. She had tales to tell, songs to sing, facts to utter, myths to promote but most importantly prophecies to testify. The eternal torch blazed in the tempestuous night without a skip in her flicker. The brilliance in her translucent glow reflected on the smooth shiny surface of the egg. She knew this was worth the wait. Patience was a virtue. She had remained patient through the times when her flame was ammunition, fuel, rubble purger , instrumental in contamination. Nevertheless she desired submission for new life ,propelling hope.
The blob was representative of the minute life forms that out numbered any other living beings on the earth. They have endured misrepresentation and mistreatment. They remained docile unless provoked . The blob was impassive about the egg. Did not matter either way to it.
Meanwhile inside the egg, lay a form, fully developed, a pundit, a fighter, a legacy, a beast. A thinker, a hunter, a savior, a life. The form did not know what it was, nor what it was supposed to be. Neither about the prediction, nor the future. The life was merely eager and enthusiastic, anxious and apprehensive, even a bit ecstatic . It simply waited patiently for the right time. It had forgotten all about what it had been in the former life. It had erased from its memory of what it had caused.
The life in the now guarded, fostered egg, was once a human. It had lived on the earth for more than 500,000 years. It ruled the earth and its assets. It was a highly intelligent species that dominated the earth and its other life forms. Previously it had been a large complex brained being that manipulated the earth's resources for its own benefit. It grew in large numbers very fast and took over the planet . It had devoured and obliterated not only the earth's reserves but also the space surrounding the earth. Selfish and self indulgent it had brought upon destruction onto itself, leaving blotches in and around the earth.
The wind picked up a notch. The warrior stood tense and taller. The turtle looked up at the nest In anticipation. The yellow eyed blob approached closer. The hawk descended lower. The floating fire soul flickered . The egg shook and the first crack appeared. The ambience was strained. The suspense heightened. There was a sudden bolt of lightening, followed by a deafening thunder, and every single one present there froze in fear, as another crack appeared in the shell, a bobbing piece of shell fell from the egg. The draughts caught greater momentum at that particular point and a gale hit the crevice where the egg was nestled in comfort, knocking it out , off the nest, off the crevice, off the cliff, into the gorge, onto the rock where the giant turtle was waiting. It crashed into fragments along with the life it guarded. The aged giant turtle in complete shock reached out to touch the remnant of the form. It was going to be a boy, the miscarried forecast.
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