Here is another piece from our Invite to Write Challenge! We asked our writers to craft a story, telling us about their fantasy world. Stay tuned throughout the fall to continue reading the amazing work. The one below is by Shelly Fitness!
Genesis II
God looked out into the world. Her mind tickled. Her mind twirled. Her mind danced. She could see exactly the mistakes she had made. She decided to try again.
She started with an inky darkness, infused with light and love. “Let there be colour!” she said and suddenly the darkness was filled with thousands of different colours. Reds, yellows, blues, greens, browns, purples, grays, pinks, oranges. The colours floated and swirled around each other, changing as they mixed with each other and then changing once more as they came apart. As they moved they filled the void with beautiful sounds, notes that harmonised with each other and hums that vibrated into the very core of the darkness. As she watched, some of the colours settled. They lay still and peaceful. They made shapes and textures. As they settled they became forms out of the formless. They looked like velvet and silk and paper and stone and wool and steam and dirt and water and a million other textures. Other colours continued to move, to swirl and dance, to shift and play. God saw the colours and the stillness and the movement and she knew they were good.
The next day, as she stood marveling at the beauty of the colours, she said, “Let there be food!” and immediately food sprouted from every colour. From purple came juicy grapes and waxy eggplant, from yellow came crunchy sweetcorn and golden butter. There were shiny red apples and sweet red radishes and stretchy red liquorice. There was glossy brown chocolate and flakey brown pastry. The many different whites produced bumpy cauliflower, salty cheese, smooth ice cream and fragile eggs. The blues produced cold, clear, crisp water and sparkling, fizzy lemonade. The food was bountiful and nutritious and, looking at it all, she knew it was good.
The third day came and God looked at her beautiful creation and wanted to add dynamism. She needed some flux and flow and cycles. “Let there be weather!” she commanded and the whole void was filled with a warm wind that spread different types of weather to different places. There were misty raindrops that fell and left a sparkling sheen on everything they touched. There was wild wind that was full of gusto and vibrancy. There was warming sunshine that made you stretch and yawn and dense fog that could make you feel like you were enclosed in safety. Snow fell in some parts, glistening and silent. Thunder and lightning filled some of the void with strength and power. God looked at all of the weather. It was beautiful. She knew it was good.
On the fourth day God decided to bring wisdom to her new creation. “Let there be books!” she shouted. And throughout the void little libraries popped up. Little libraries with soft, comfortable reading chairs in streams of sunlight. Couches with big overstuffed cushions and bean bags of velvety corduroy. Beautiful tiffany desk lamps and green banker’s lamps and soft-lit Trubridge hanging lights. Dark wood shelves and paper-based catalogues in long, velvet lined drawers. And books. So many books. Books on every subject and books full of stories. Ancient stories and modern stories. Sad and happy stories. And every book had a lesson. And every book was precious. And every book was good.
By the fifth day God was ready to share her creation. “Let there be animals of every kind!” she said. And oh! The animals came. Cute, fuzzy squirrels and wise, powerful elephants. Majestic horses and silvery, flashing fish. Smiling, galloping dogs and sleek, shiny pumas. Laughing monkeys and languishing crocodiles. And all of the animals were friends with each other, and all of the animals were tame. Although they had no shared language, they did share the language of this new world, a language of beauty and love and wisdom. Lions lay with lambs and snakes coiled around the necks of giraffes. Cheetahs cleaned mice with their big pink tongues and hippos swam with seals. God saw all of this and she knew it was good.
Now the time had come, the sixth day. God said, “Let there be women, let there be as many different women as there are colours and let them all live together.” And the women came. Smiling, they came into being. And there were women of all colours and women of all genders and women of all persuasions, types and imaginings. They looked at each other and they loved each other. They looked at this new world and instinctively knew they were called to be the caretakers. It was their privilege to serve this creation. They also knew that God had put her creative spark in all of them and she expected them to continue to divinely create more goodness. God looked at the women and she knew that they were good. Every single one of them.
On the seventh day, God joined the new world and she rested. She made a bed from the softest wool and the warmest blankets and cuddled up with a huge soft brown bear and five books. She looked at the beauty around her. The physical beauty of creation and the innate beauty of diversity and love, and she sighed a happy sigh as she lay back and began to read.
