A collection of very short

Creation

"Do you want to know how the world was made Tony?"

"Yes grandpa, tell me."

"Let's get you to bed, and then I'll tell you,"

Tony ran back to his room, put on his pyjama and burrowed inside the sheets. He popped his head out.

"I'm ready," he yelled out with excitement.

His grandfather slowly walked to Tony's room. He picked up a chair outside the room and came to sit by Tony's head. Tony turned to look at the wall. He was ready to start imagining and dreaming.

"Once upon a time, there was a huge whale. This whale was so big that it had a volcano on its back. It was as big as an island. A big island. For years and years, it roamed the ocean in search of food. Because you see, the whale existed before everything. The whale was the only creature present on Earth when our Earth was just a big ball of water. She had one mission: to create islands big and small, and to make the world as we know it today. This was to be a world teeming with life. But for that, the whale needed food."

"For countless years, the whale roamed the oceans. As it moved, slowly, she created waves hundreds of meter high. She looked everywhere for food, but she couldn't find any. She went to the poles and tried to eat the ice. But the ice had no taste and was not filling. It just melted back into the oceans. So the whale tried to eat rocks floating in the ocean, but there was never enough. As time passed, the whale grew tired. Her hopes to complete her mission successfully were dimming."

"One day, she looked up at the Moon. She found it to be such a mysterious body, always there in the sky but never at the same place and never the same shape twice. Then the whale wondered: 'What if my planet is like the Moon, but with water around it? What if I am not swimming in a ball of water but in water covering a ball of rock?' This changed everything for the whale. She had to find out if it was true. So she trained herself to dive, deeper and deeper. Every time she resurfaced, exhausted, tsunamis were created, rippling around the world. It was a sight to behold. One day she saw the seafloor, confirming her Moon theory. She was indeed swimming in water on a ball made of rock. That day, she knew how to complete her mission. That day she became hopeful again. She knew what to do."

"After countless days and countless dives, the whale was finally ready. Several times she had seen the seafloor, deep under the surface. So on a sunny day, the whale dove as deep as possible and she reached the seafloor. She opened her huge jaws and took an enormous bite out of the floor, capturing in her jaws as much rock as she could. Filling full and running out of air, she headed back to the surface."

"Once at the surface, the whale wiggled her tail with happiness. After so long without food, she felt so much better. It was as if life itself had returned to her body. The seafloor rocks were much tastier than the ice from the poles or the floating rocks in the ocean. Content, the whale let out a huge eruption. She moved as she did so, filled with excitement. This eruption was her first creation. It created Australia, and the archipelago of Indonesia and the Philippines."

"Looking at her creation, the whale felt an incredible sense of achievement. Her goal was well underway. But she knew she wasn't done yet. So when the eruption on her back stopped, she dove back to the seafloor. This time she took a bite two times as big. When she re-emerged, a new eruption from her back created Asia. The whale smiled. But she was not done yet. There was more to do. She dove again and again. Every time, as she reached the surface, the volcano on her back would erupt, releasing all the rocks that she had eaten. Every eruption would light up her back with beautiful sunset colours all the while her belly remained blue like the oceans. It's too bad no human lived back then. This was truly an amazing sight."

"As the whale dove and erupted, again and again, the Americas emerged. Then came Europe. Amused by her abilities, the whale also triggered smaller eruptions, dotting the oceans with beautiful islands throughout the world. One day, looking at the South Pole, she felt sad. She felt more fun was needed there. So she dove under the pole, and for the first time ever, she erupted underwater, below the sea ice. This pushed up the ice cap into beautiful white mountains. This was so much fun for her."

"But now that her mission had been accomplished, the whale was getting weaker and weaker. One day the whale was too tired. She couldn't continue anymore. She dove one last time and took a huge bite out of the seafloor, the biggest she ever had. This took all her energy out of her. As she rose back to the surface, she remained still in the middle of the largest patch of ocean left. She let out a huge eruption. This entombed her where she was, making sure she would remain still forever. It also created one of the biggest islands there is in the world. An island so big that it touched Asia and almost Europe."

"And this is how Africa was created. This is how our land came to be."

Tony had long fallen asleep. His grandfather left a kiss on his forehead and let him dream.