The Rock that Remains

Fires raged around me as I stood, unscathed, on the plain. I had hoped that this day would never come, and yet, here it was. It was foretold centuries ago when the world was new. A fire would spread across the earth, devouring all living creatures in its path. One would be spared. That one was me. I did not want to be spared. I wanted to be the hero, to save everyone.

I was but a lonely pebble when the prophecy was bestowed upon me. In the centuries that had passed, I had grown into a boulder of immense size and shape. From a distance, I resembled a giant humanoid. My body was colored in different shades of grey. Tiny cracks ran across my body like cobwebs. I lumbered as I walked. My enormous size sometimes made it hard for me to get around, but I made the best of my situation.

I had no friends. If there were others like me, I had yet to meet them. To be the only one of your species was a lonely existence. I tried making friends with the humans in the local village, but it was a horrific experience. The screaming, just the screaming alone haunted me. Humans are afraid of things they don't understand, including me. I’ve never harmed anyone, but still they fear me. What I would give to have them understand me. Therefore, I lived a life of solitude. An enormous hollowed-out tree became my home. It was deep in the forest, far from the fearful people. I wiled away the hours crafting figurines from small sticks and leaves imagining what they would say if they could speak. I was grateful when each day dawned anew, but the fear of the fire was never ceasing and my loneliness increased.

The fires began on the day of the new cycle, when the world turned over, and new life began. I was taking a walk amongst the trees, admiring the beauty of the forest when I started smelling smoke. I tried to prepare myself for the running and screaming that would occur when I appeared.

As I entered the clearing, the first thing I noticed was that this wasn’t a normal fire. It didn’t look right; the flames weren’t the right color. They were blue, purple, and black. The fire danced ominously among the trees. The flames played peekaboo with me, and I stared at them, horrified. Their macabre dance

There was no time to lose. I had to get to the village. I didn’t care if they were afraid of me. It was up to me and me alone.

My steps echoed like thunder across the ground. Chaos had already erupted as I made it to the village. Fire blazed from several houses as the humans tried desperately to quench the flames. Screams came from them as the humans spent their last moments in agony. The fire chased the humans across the village, grabbing them in its searing embrace.

I tried to help, but the humans wouldn’t listen. In their panic, they ran from me just to be grabbed by the fire. One by one, they fell to the flames, all the while I was pleading with them to come with me. I could save them. All they had to do was listen, yet their fear cost them their lives. They had no one to blame but themselves. So why was I filled with guilt? Why did I try to forsake the prophecy? In the end, all I did was hasten their deaths. I stood alone amongst the ruins of the village, wondering what would happen next.

The fires burned for days and days. How many had passed, I did not know. I was devastated. I couldn’t escape the flames, I just let them burn and burn. The heat washed over me, but I did not care. I wanted the flames to take me to erase me from existence, to be extinguished like all the others, but I knew the flames wouldn’t do that, they couldn’t.

Then one day as I stood sinking even deeper into my misery, the sky opened up, and the deluge fell. The air was filled with hissing sounds as the water hit the flames. I lifted my head toward the sky and let out a terrible cry. It was a cry of remorse, guilt, and shame. I cried out with all I had and it still wasn’t enough. I began to pray for the rain to wash all of my despair away and that’s when I heard someone move behind and begin to speak in a raspy voice.

“Why do you pray?” the voice said.

I turned, and there stood the prophet, exuding an air of importance that he did not deserve. He was covered in moss and vines as if time and age had crawled across his figure, but left his face untouched. He seemed to have lived his life in stasis, never going out to preach or prophesy beyond the devastation I had just witnessed.

“I pray because it’s the only thing left to do.” I said, my rage just hovering at the surface. It took all I had to keep my composure.

“Praying will not help, it was foretold. Your intervention could not save anyone, no matter what,” the prophet replied with sneer. “You must listen and obey to all things He who came before and He who will be after says. It is the only way,” he continued in the same sneering voice.

The rage broke inside me, filling every crack, every crevice in my body. I wanted to pummel him into tiny pebbles and scatter him to the winds. I wanted to make him spend eternity trying to put himself back together. But something stopped me. Another voice ,ancient and powerful. A voice from the beginning of time, when the world was new. It came from all around me. I could not see who the voice belonged to, but in my mind I knew. It was He who came before and He who would be after.

“Why are you weeping, young one?” the voice asked. “You knew the ending at the beginning, and yet you still tried to save them. Why?”

“Because…” I sputtered. The rain ran in rivulets down my body, intermingling with the tears that flowed freely from my eyes. “I thought that they would see me as more than just a monster.” “ I just don’t want to be alone.”

The voice was quiet for a moment, contemplating my words. When they spoke again it was firm, but with a touch of softness like a father chiding his child.

“There are things set in place that are beyond our control. It was set long before you were created, even before I became the one in charge. You were chosen to survive the fire because of your compassion. The humans before may not have understood you, but there are those coming that will see you in a different light. Let go of your guilt and anger. There are better days coming, this I know.”

I waited for He who came before and He who would be after to say more, but I was met with silence. I was alone once more, but not as lonely as I once was. There was something stirring within me. It was washing away my guilt, anger, and shame. It was hope. A feeling that I thought I would never feel again. There was a purpose for my life and now I was ready to face it.