Over the Horizon

A cool breeze runs through a prairie. The lush green grass covers different wonders under each stalk. It ripples softly. The smell of flowers wafts around the floor and sky, accompanied by the sounds of life. A bird sings; a bee hums. A couple of pine trees fill the area; it is the crown of the prairie, but also the heart. The trees are tall with age with roots reaching down to the beginning of life.

Just below, a she-wolf brings 3 cubs to the world. Their eyes open to the sight of the prairie, their home. 2 butterflies flutter around a group of yellow daisies and their colours bring joy and peace to many. A deer drinks from a crystal pond which canvasses an image of the blue sky like a painting. Soon, the sun dips into the horizon. It leaves behind a trail of red, then pink, then orange. Colours, which painters and photographers can never seem to capture.

Years later, mother wolf ages and is carried into the night. She finds her way into the moon, where she watches over her children. The youngest, no longer a pup, looks upon the moon and howls to his mother. The meadow is silent with sleep and his musical notes linger in the air. His two older siblings left in search of food. They never came back.

In the morning, he decides to look for them. He took one more glance at his beloved home, teemed with life, and then turns and leaves. Surely, his sibling lay just over the horizon. He tore through the endless roads and ran faster than the wind. No matter how fast he ran, each step forward, the horizon moved one step back. He kept running as the sun and moon continued their toil. What lay over the horizon? He ran until her could run no more and he finally stopped. He returned to his home but it was not as he left it.

It was dark and dull, the grass were flimsy little strings. There were not animals, not signs of any one. Where there used to be a beautiful pond, lay not a cracked hole. It was all drained away – its lovely painting was stolen away too. Heavy, black clouds blocked all the sun and the moon cast an eerie glow. The havoc continued. What sorry rays of sun there were left shone on the pine trees. The same one which brought him to existence was only a heap of twigs and branches. He looked up at the moon and howled with anguish – each of his notes carried the raw loneliness of his sorrow.

A sudden gust of wind rushed at him and blew a pine seed in his direction. The seed was not damaged and it was the only colour in the monochromatic world. He planted the seed and waited. He cried in despair and his tears filled the dry land with water. He cried and cried until the clouds rained away. Finally the seed sprouted, pushed away the soil, and grew faster by the minutes. It grew so tall that the top couldn’t be seen. Life slowly crept back and everything fit back together. The prairie thrived once more, all from one seed. 

What lies over the horizon? Nothing. Yet, everything.