The Blue Sky

In the Ur-times, before Grass learned to Grow and before Lightning Bug learned to Glow, there was Blue.

Blue was the youngest of ten billion children of Light, and was often forgotten about. This did not bother Blue, because it gave her time to learn. Blue loved to watch the other colours as they swirled and danced around each other, leaving impressions of themselves on things. She giggled merrily when Green tripped and smeared herself all over Grass. Grass was upset at first, but decided he liked the colour and that he would keep it.

She so enjoyed watching the other colours, and the curious Things that they would run into all day an night, that she was often missing for days at a time. She would climb atop a Rock, or into the beards and hair of Trees while they argued back and forth, and watch as the world blossomed around her in a growing symphony.

The higher Blue climbed, the more she could see with her keen eyes. And so she climbed higher and higher each day. She climbed to the tallest tree, and was unsatisfied (much to Redwood's dismay). She climbed to the top of the bluffs, but still this was not enough. She climbed, with his permission and a promise to be very careful, to the top of Mountain. And as she stood at the summit of his highest peak she sighed.

For it was not high enough.

She could see the Forest, and the Plains, the Ocean and the Beach. She could see all the siblings she had in all these wonderful places, she could see Ferret and Fox, Joy and The Numbness of Cold. She could see so much. But she knew there was more.

Sky was passing overhead at just that time and nearly knocked her off the head of Mountain.

"I am terribly sorry, Blue. I did not expect to see you up so high." He said, picking her up and dusting her off.

Blue smiled back. And that smile changed, with a clever thought, into a sly grin.

"Not to worry Sky, I am fine. How are you?"

"I am well, though very busy. So much to keep track of." And she saw that Sky had the same keen eyes as her.

"Of course, of course. If only you had some help." She ventured.

"If only." Said Sky, already craning his head to keep count of all the Things in the Plains below.

"I wonder, Sky," She said, "Have you ever considered being Blue?"

Sky stopped counting for a moment, and cocked his head. Sky had never been a colour before. And as he looked down at all the colours mixing and playing on the ground below, far away from Sky, he could not think of a more wonderful colour than Blue.

So Sky smiled at Blue, and nodded.

"I had not, but I cannot imagine a better Colour."

So Blue held out her hand, and Sky took it and together they ascended up and up and up. And Blue could see the whole world laid out before her. And she loved it very very much.

And Mountain was profoundly relieved to not have two Things standing on his head anymore.

The Sadness

It was not, in any way, her fault. The car had experienced a freak fault, and skidded out into a two-decade old tree that brought it to an abrupt halt. She had done everything in her power to prevent the crash. The impact had been uncharacteristically cruel. All three occupants of the vehicle had died instantly.

The odds were so astronomically bad that Death had first thought the situation reeked of divine influence. Zeus or Shiva, perhaps. But he could turn up no evidence on his inspection, so had to carry on.

He made a mental note to alert IA, and hoped they did their job this time.

Death stood now a respectful distance from the wreck, waiting patiently for the attention of the driver.

She was transfixed by the crumpled wreck before her, and the three bodies inside. She knelt, unmoving, staring in at the children in the back seat.

There were no tears. She was well beyond them, Death knew. It was not uncharacteristic. He wanted to reach out and provide some comfort, but he was severely limited on what he could tell her and his hand was skeletal. Not often overly comforting to the recently dead.

Slowly, she turned her head to see him.  Her lips worked out a sound with great effort.

"Why?"

Death stood motionless. He considered the question with care. Considered the platitudes humans share with each other in this situation. Considered the truth, as he knew it, incomplete and untrustworthy as it was. He settled on the only thing he could think that was not a complete lie, and not completely horrible.

He stepped forward, and took a knee beside her. Even so, he towered high above her.

"It is life." He shrugged, helplessly. It was not comforting, it was not helpful. But it was as close to the truth as he could manage.

The least he could do for her.

She was not satisfied.

The two of them stared at the car in silence, and time flowed around them. Death would not rush her.

People came. The bodies disappeared, the car vanished. The broken tree was removed. The grass grew, shrank, grew again.

Death and the woman sat.

Occasionally, the man would appear in the window and look down at the two of them mournfully.

Finally, she spoke. Her voice was cracked and dry.

"I would like to leave." She said, without looking at Death. He nodded in response, and held out his bony hand.

She did not look to it, but put her hand in its cold fingers. Death tried to take her away from the great sadness.

But she brought the Sadness with her, and Death realized that there was no escape from this Sadness. His eyes darkened, and he squared his shoulders to heft the load of her Sadness on to his.

He set his jaw, and resolved to have words with the Gods.

What Is Best

In the Ur-times, before Cinnamon found its Spice and before Blade learned its point, the Trees were talking.

"Sister Willow, what is best?"

"Brother Beech, letting long roots drink deep from the foundations of the world is best. Surely you know this." She creaked slowly.

Brother Beech swayed disagreeingly in the wind.

"No, no. To block the sun, and make the ground dark and covered in your leaves, this is best." Brother Beech shifted his swayings and nodded to himself.

"Harrumph." Came the low grumble from Brother Oak. "You youths are fools." it continued. "To grow, and be grand and strong, these are what is best."

Sister Redwood giggled at this, and her branches shuddered with the laughter. "You think yourself strong, Brother Oak? Look at my tremendous height, and ask yourself if you have the strength to grow this far from the ground." Her branches smiled wrly down at her siblings, and she cast her gaze off into the distance, already moving away from the distant conversation.

Brother Oak grunted grumpily.

The Cedar Twins had thus far been quiet, but one of them broke their silence to gain the attention of their siblings.

"Um."

The Trees continued to bicker back and forth, not having noticed the Cedar's interjection.

So Cedar waited. And waited. And waited. Until it could wait no more.

"Um." It said again, during a lull in the conversation. The rest of the trees stopped, and turned to the quiet tree. The Twins did not say much, and they were very young. The Trees looked down at the Cedar Twin that spoke, and waited expectantly.

"Yes, Tree?" Asked Beech at last.

"My brother Cedar felt that what was best in life was to help others. By being shade like Brother Beech or by holding Earth together like Sister Willow. Or by giving of oneself so that others might be happy." The little Tree said.

The Trees thought about this for some time. They were pleased by the notion. Sister Redwood looked down at the congregation below her and shook her leaves confusedly.

"Where is your twin, Brother Cedar?" She asked.

Brother Cedar looked at the stump where his twin had sat, and smiled.

"He is enjoying what is best in life." He said, and looked into the distance at a brand new, beautiful Cedar plank home.