A tremor in the Earth. A subterranean rumble, an explosion of dirt, rock,and magma. An inconceivable force, destroying both mankind’s achievements and its sense of strength and superiority to nature. Through the collision of tectonic plates, tons of rock fusing together or melting with the intense heat, I am born. I slowly take shape, with a churning,swirling gulf under me. I slowly wake, as if from a deep slumber, and gain energy as I twist and turn, advancing upwards, or what seems to be up in my lethargic mind.

I rise through the water, thanking Earth, my mother. Dimly aware of my surroundings, I see the sun through my own essence: the water around me, and push aside their combined mass like a man swipes a leaf from his shoulder, without effort. I surge through the water, growing into a toddler. And though I am aware of what I am, what I represent, I see life through a child’s eyes, with no worries, no cares, and I simply am. I know not what I should do, but a small corner of my mind incites me to quickly rush in one direction, and I listen to it,feeling as if these rules were completely embedded in my being, as if I could not resist it: the call of life.

Churning waters, slowly rising upwards, and then a mighty eruption, filling me up with power, pleasure coursing through every cell in my body. As I grow and grow, I shed my childhood, rising to the next level. Now perfectly aware of my surroundings, I survey them detachedly, and I know that I am the master of this vast expanse of water, that goes farther than the horizon. I am secure in this thought, and I understand that this is what I am meant to be, it is my purpose, and nothing can stop me, whether I wish it to or not. And yet, as I speed through the ocean, I feel like I am not master of myself. I am powerful and beautiful, but my existence is short and my destiny is predetermined. But why should I grieve? I have all that I could wish for and will die happy. So I rush through the water, rushing through the cycle of my life at the same pace. I am near adulthood now, it must be why I am so scared for my future.

I am now at the peak of my life, but it is not what I wished for. Now I have lost my hold on the remnants of childhood, and like an overworked adult I speed through life, not with enthusiasm, but with the knowledge that I must continue. An island appears in the distance, a speck of dirt rapidly expanding, and I look at it with curiosity. What is it? A mere deformation in my endless liquid kingdom. Probably. I do not fret about it, for I know it is just a step in my life, a small obstacle I must surmount, easy for a massive being like me. Then I crash into the island, feeling the dirt scraping into my underside.

I hear panicked screams, watching people run or try to hide from my impressive girth. I hear my crashing and rolling as I tear houses from their foundations with minimal effort. I smell raw fear, eating away at these people. I swallow them, like everything else on the island. Just before I engulf them with my essence I see hundreds of conflicted emotions in their eyes. Families broken, fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, brothers, and sisters separated. But they are just my prey, lesser beings. They are not worthy of my pity; in my eyes, only my satisfaction imports. Without a second thought I obliterate everything in my path and reduce both people and houses to dust. Blood fills me, but it will eventually wash away.

After having demolished everything in sight, I realize that I am slowly fading into old age, and that I have little time left in my life. O, what have I done of my youth? I feel like I was child but yesterday! And then my train of thought stops at my adulthood. What have I accomplished in it? Have I done anything worthy of note? No. Or at least not in any good way. I realize how much pain and ruin I have caused. I thought I was simply getting on with my life, but now, as I start sinking away into the sea, dragging timber and cadavers with me, I have time to ponder over my actions. The desperation in the people's eyes, the pain they must have felt! All because of me. At the time I believed it to be my destiny, as if it was inevitable, as if there was nothing I could have done other than submerge the island, but I was wrong! I followed the path of the weak, of the lazy. I could have sunk in front of it, but I kept going! It would have shortened my life, but at least I would have ended peacefully,
content and with no regrets.

What have I done? Killed, slaughtered, torn families apart, doomed the lives of the survivors, leaving them alone, without their loved ones, without any way to get any subsistence to survive! WHY!? Why, Earth, my mother? Maybe you believe humans deserved this, but I don’t. There must be other ways to make them understand!

Goodbye dear world, I now part from you, full of sorrow and pain, hoping that you will not make my mistakes again.