Stories of My Past

I remember hearing stories of the tall beasts. They would cover their bodies with different types of fabrics, were about fifty times our size, and would go through millions of emotions in a second. I've always wondered if the stories were true; if the place they called Earth was real, and if the tall beasts were really emotionally unstable. My nana used to say that they had ginormous metal contraptions, some would navigate the salt waters, others the sky and millions would roam the grounds.

They were destroyers and creators. The tall beasts, the giants, could create such beautiful things but would destroy their world as well. Nana tells me stories of them destroying forests. You can hear the birds leaving when the tall beasts come. They start singing a sad ballad, one of those with a string orchestra, rumbling notes, and a sense of melancholy filling the air. Then, you can hear the first cry of the trees. Their call would resonate through the body of every creature. It would echo for days after the trees had fallen. It was the sound of loss. Little by little, a whole forest would start to fall, and suddenly you could smell decay. You would see a grey cloud cover the sky, and mysterious dark snow would begin to fall. The snow would stain everything on its path, and by nightfall, everything was silent.

Nana says that we came from Earth, hundreds of years ago. The tall beasts are our descendants. We all used to live in a giant forest, all of the creatures. But now, only a few of us get to go back home. Only a few of us get selected to go fight a battle that some say is already lost. Some of us are chosen as guides. We whisper to the giants and help them in their fight against the tall beasts that destroy. The ones that stay behind, just fly around spreading joy and happiness to all in this new world.

The stories say you get selected by a light. They never specify the color, or if it radiates heat or cold. I've always pictured it as a warm orange light. A sunset orange that gives you a sense of reassurance that the sun will only be gone for a few hours. A sunset orange that smells like the salt of the body of water that expands so grand that never ends. A sunset orange that is like sipping hot cocoa on a cold winter night. Nana used to say I was going to see Earth one day. She was right.

As I laid down one night on a leaf to take a nap, I could smell the saltiness of the water and feel a cool breeze as I doze off.

I'm not home anymore. I thought to myself when I woke up. I tried to move, but I was having difficulty moving my body. I felt bigger, heavier, and extremely irritated. What was going on? Am I dreaming? I miss my home. My home is green, blue, yellow, purple, black and white, and all the colors in between; it's magic. When I fly, I sprinkle magic everywhere I go. I bring joy, the giants even have stories about my kind. They say that every time a child laughs, one of us is born. Nana says the tall beasts come up with weird stories to understand us. I mean, we all create our own little stories, our own definitions to understand each other.

Why am I lying down?! I wanna get up! Why can't I speak?!

I hear footsteps, someone is coming. I wish I could hide, I have no idea where I am.

"Honey, she's laughing! Isn't that most beautiful sound you've ever heard. Such a lovely baby girl." The giant was reaching down to grab me and, I couldn't help but think that this was what nana meant when she said I was going to see Earth one day.