The Giver and Keeper of Life

I am Earth; mother of the moon; daughter of the sun; sister of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; and stepsister of Pluto.

I am the ground beneath your feet, the water which you drink, the oxygen that you breathe. I am the giver and the keeper of life for trillions of species. Each organism plays a vital role in maintaining my ecosystem, whether it’s a plant, animal, fungus, bacteria, protozoa, or microbe. Just as I give them life, they give me mine.

And I love every single one, except for Homo sapiens.

Journal Entry #1 –

I have always been fascinated with the unknown. Over the years I have theorized that many of humanity’s so-called myths are simply undiscovered truths.

Of particular interest to me are the lost cities of El Dorado, Atlantis, Shangri-La, Hy-Brasil, and Avalon.

I know in my soul that all of these exist. I can’t shake the feeling that it’s my destiny to prove that this is more than lore.

I have decided to drop out of college and focus on this adventure. I’m wasting thousands of dollars to fit into a mold that isn’t meant for me, when all I want is to be part of something bigger.

Journal Entry #2 –

It has been a few weeks since my previous entry. I finished the fall semester and am now several days into winter break.

I have been doing a lot of research into a few myths and realized just how daunting this process is going to be. There are so many amazing places to explore – not to mention everything is written in riddles.

Where do I even begin? I’m already overwhelmed.

Maybe this is stupid. Am I throwing away my future for a pipe dream?

Journal Entry #3 –

I took a break for a couple of days to let myself relax and unwind. I was certain that I was too tired to think clearly and that I would realize my dream was unrealistic.

I spent the days catching up on sleep and trying to think a bit more rationally. This did not help.

Now, I am even more fixated on this fantasy of becoming a real-life Indiana Jones. Every other avenue in life sounds so bleak and mundane. This is my passion. Anything else would be settling.

We only get one-life…

Oh! That’s it. I can’t believe I didn’t think about this before.

There are so many amazing options to explore that I was so worried about choosing my favorite legend in case it’s the only one I have time to find before I die.

But what if I didn’t die? I would have unlimited time to uncover all the secrets of the universe. I need immortality – I need the Fountain of Youth.

Journal Entry #4 –

As you can probably guess, I never returned to school, much to my parents’ dismay. I put all my time and energy into, what one can only call, my obsession.

I have read dozens of books and articles on the Fountain of Youth. I’ve scribbled non-sense in the margins, taken notes, and re-read seemingly important passages.

It’s no surprise that almost every theory involves water.

Modern theorists speculate that drinking or bathing from the spring is what grants immortality. Some say that whoever finds it will be blessed with life; while others believe that only those most deserving will be rewarded; those deemed unworthy will rapidly age and die within moments.

What has really caught my eye is a far older tale of a magical plant that sustains and restores youth. A plant that grows only in the depths of water.

Every new version of a myth is slightly different than the previous. It’s like a game of Telephone. What if the Fountain of Youth is actually a misunderstanding from centuries of storytelling that slightly changed the narrative?

I think I need to research the plant. There’s something here.

Journal Entry #5 –

The earliest mention of the plant I can find dates to around 1200 BCE from the Eleventh Tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh. In the story, Utnapishtim and his wife are made divine beings after surviving a flood designed by a wrathful god to wipe out humanity. Utnapishtim challenges Gilgamesh to earn immortality, which he cannot do. As a consolation prize, he tells Gilgamesh of a plant that restores youth. Ultimately, a serpent eats the plant, and Gilgamesh must return to his home in Uruk and come to terms with his mortality.

Archaeologists have dug up most of that geographical area to recover missing parts of history. The river has dried up. If there ever was a magical plant growing underwater, then it has long since died.

I don’t know where this leaves my theory. I need a break.

Journal Entry #6 –

It dawned on me that the best stories are told with partial truths. Perhaps, the concept of the plant was real, but Utnapishtim didn’t think Gilgamesh was worthy after he immediately failed to prove himself during the challenge. Maybe the plant does exist, but Utnapishtim never gave the true location. In his shame and embarrassment of being denied, Gilgamesh could have made up the story about the serpent just to play the victim.

This idea sounds less plausible now that I have written it down. Regardless, I will finish this thought experiment.

Based on the tale, we know that Utnapishtim’s boat was tossed around during the flood until it more or less crash-landed at Mount Nisir, part of a nearly 1,000 mile long mountain range. There is no mention of a specific distance the boat traveled, but some estimates say it could have traveled up to 300 miles.

It’s a long shot, but I drew a 300-mile radius around the ancient city of Shuruppak, Utnapishtim’s home and another around Mount Nisir. It’s a large area, but it’s a start.

I expect the water to be underground. Most likely hidden in a cave or a crevasse. It can’t be out in the open, it would have been found by now if it were.

I’ll focus my search on the Zagros mountain range that falls within the parameters I have already identified.

Journal Entry #7 –

So. many. caves. My hand hurts from drawing a map, albeit a terrible and probably inaccurate one.

I guess I am backpacking the Zagros. I should be at the first cave entrance in less than two weeks.

I am so out of my element. My brain tells me this is a bad idea. Every other part of me is itching to begin.

Journal Entry #8 –

Until yesterday, there hasn't been much to report recently. I got everything in order back home just in case something goes awry, although I don’t expect it to.

After flying into Turkey, I stocked up on supplies, talked to some locals for information, and headed south toward the Iraq border.

The most exciting thing to happen is my new traveling companions.

I stopped in a small town, the last known area of civilization I would see before my expedition. The thought of leaving humanity behind, filled me with dread. I didn’t think I was ready for this magnitude of solitude. For the first time, I realized just how dangerous this adventure is.

My anxiety spiked. I got cold feet and wanted nothing more than to throw in the towel.

I needed liquid courage to get me through the night. A dingy tavern was just down the dirt path from my inn. I don’t speak Turkish, so I just motioned the act of taking a shot. The bartender understood. I don’t even know what I drank; it was bitter and dry, but I didn’t care. I just needed to tame my nerves.

I downed the drink and went to sit down only to find that all the tables had been pressed together and were occupied by a group of rugged men and women. I turned to order another drink as one of the men came over; he presumably ordered in Turkish, which sounded like utter gibberish to me. He saw me motion for a refill and invited me to join him and his friends for drinks. I was shocked to find that they also spoke near-perfect English.

They told me of their plans to hike the Zagros. They had already hiked over 150 miles through Turkey’s portion of the Zagros. Although some of this region falls within my radius, my search mainly covers modern-day Iraq.

I was selective in what I told them at first. But, as I saw the camaraderie between the group, I was struck with a twinge of regret for coming by myself. How could I be so foolish to think that I could survive such a perilous trek on my own?

I downed another glass of the unknown drink and mustered the courage to invite these people with me. At first, they laughed. I think they thought I was joking. It was humiliating to see the moment they realized this was not a joke and that I was just delusional, with a one-way trip to meet my maker.

I pulled out my notes and showed them everything from the most damning evidence in old texts, to my maps, and my theories.

They agreed to come with me. I don’t think I convinced them of my theory. I think they were mainly concerned about my safety and felt that our routes overlapped enough that we could travel together.

Now, I have an experienced group to accompany me. I hope this wasn’t a mistake.

Journal Entry #9 –

I have no idea how much time has passed since I last updated. I wanted to record everything for posterity. It’s not possible.

We spend every waking hour mapping the cave systems, so we don’t get lost. By the time we find a suitable place to rest, I’m too tired to write.

I’m only jotting down quick notes now that we’ve stopped to restock our supplies. We go back to where we left off in two days. I’m exhausted. Mentally, physically, and spiritually. I couldn’t have done this without the group. I’m glad I invited them.

Journal Entry #10 –

We have seen lots of cool rock formations, underground water sources, and minerals.

I wish I had more time to admire everything we have seen, but there are thousands of miles in these caves. You don’t understand just how deep these caves go and how much they wind around until you are trying to navigate them.

It’s a terrifying maze. Without drawing every single movement, we would be lost with no way out. I’m scared to go back, but it’s too late to turn around now.

Who knows if we are getting closer… or, if we are even on the right track at all.

Journal Entry #11 –

This may be my last entry for a while. This last leg messed me up.

One of our hikers twisted his ankle. We wrapped it and took a break as long as we could, but we had to keep moving.

Literally, just a twisted ankle. It wasn’t life-threatening. At least, it shouldn’t have been.

Then we came across a fissure too wide to jump across. Our only options were to turn back or carefully navigate the narrow rock ledge that protruded mere inches from the rock wall.

We were too cocky. Too confident. We should have turned back, but we didn’t.

We lined up and started walking along the narrow ledge one at a time. I was third in line. I walked on my tiptoes, careful not to let my heel dip too far down and throw off my balance. My hands gripped the rock wall and stalactites so tightly my knuckles were white.

Halfway across, there was an indent in the rock that formed an opening big enough for all of us to stand on, giving us an opportunity to catch our breath and calm our racing hearts.

Five of the nine of us had made it to temporary safety at the mid-stopping point when the injured man’s ankle gave out on him. It rolled again. He tried to grasp onto the rock, but he couldn’t get purchase.

He found something to grab onto. I felt relief wash over me for a millisecond until a blood curdling scream snapped me back to the reality before me. He clung to another hiker’s ankle. We watched in horror, the scene playing out in slow motion.

She couldn’t bend down to help him without falling. She also couldn’t maintain her balance on the ledge. There was no way to save him, no matter how much we all wanted to. Her survival instincts kicked in and she tried to shake him off, but he wouldn’t let go. It felt like an eternity as she fought against him until her hands slipped off the rock and she went barreling over the ledge with him.

We stared into the abyss in silence.

The last two hikers were shaking. One of them slipped and I thought that he was going to fall, but he recovered.

I don’t remember much after that. The rest of us made it out; I don’t know how long it took. I had shut down mentally and emotionally. My body was on autopilot.

Now we are resting and I want to stop. I want to go home and get a boring job.

How could I live with myself if I give up now? What meaning would that give to the lives lost?

I must keep going.

Journal Entry #12 –

It’s the sixth (?) leg of our journey; I stopped keeping track after my last entry.

I think we finally found something important. I don’t know if it’s what we are looking for, but there is something different.

The damp, stale smell of the caves has vanished. Now, it’s fresh air. Almost like there is a breeze, but that seems impossible since we are miles away from an opening.

No promises, but I am hopeful this is a good sign of what’s to come.

Journal Entry #13 –

Have you ever been so awe-inspired that you cry? It’s rare to encounter something so ethereal that you immediately find peace.

It’s a surreal experience. Otherworldly, really. In the span of hours, we have gone from wet rocks and minerals encased in dark tunnels and caves to this.

The seven of us stand shoulder to shoulder at the edge of a thin stream that runs across the rock. Above us, the rock turns into a dome, reminiscent of the Cathedral ceilings that feel impossibly high.

The view is magnificent. I want to enjoy this. I will write more once we are done, but now it’s time to uncover the secrets of the universe.

Post Journal

In typical fashion, I have no idea how much time has passed since my last entry. I could not write down what happened next, but I remember it vividly.

I bent down to touch the small flow of water. The second my hand made contact, the ground started to move. A thunderous roar echoed through the cavern.

Suddenly, I was suspended in mid-air; the ground I once stood on had moved back to reveal a large, crystal clear lake beneath me.

The water below me was pure – divine. An iridescent flower emerged through the limestone lakebed. I knew instantly that this was what I had been searching for.

I wondered if I could reach down and grab it, but I knew it was too far away. As if the universe could read my thoughts, the flower floated to the surface. I glanced over to my fellow hikers and saw their awe-struck faces staring at me incredulously. When I looked back, the flower was gone.

In its place, rests an old, waterlogged, leather-bound journal surrounded by dozens of human bones. Decayed skeletons whose only purpose now is to alert future adventurers of their imminent demise. A futile role – for once you have seen the warning, death is no longer a possibility, but your fate.

A sudden horror creeps over me as I recognize that journal as my own. Memories wash over me as I relive my death. No, not just mine, the death of all humanity. A fate that befell them because of me. I found my immortality, within these caves that beckon death.

The Fountain of Youth knows only one survivor, Earth.

I am Earth; Mother Nature, giver and keeper of life. Time and time again, Homo sapiens seek divinity that they cannot have.

The Fountain of Youth is one of their many misunderstandings. They believe that the gift of immortality is for them. It is for me.

They are my fountain of life, from which I steal their energy for my own eternal youth. Every time a human seeks out this magical place, they doom their entire species. I absorb the life of all humans and am forced to reset Homo sapiens back to their beginning.

With each new version, I keep a bit of the previous trials to serve as my own reminder of how hard I have tried to save humanity. Every lost city is a remnant of all the failed attempts at creating a human race worthy of my good graces.

The resets don’t seem to matter. Within a few hundred to a few thousand years, another human stumbles into this cave seeking immortality. I give it to them. I keep their unaging essence and consciousness here with me, destined to remember the consequences of their greed, and watch as their species continues to condemn themselves to eternal damnation.

Perhaps someday they will evolve into more mindful beings. For now, the cycle continues as it always has; Homo sapiens rebuild and inevitably forget their place in this world. They seek out the fortune of my secrets and damn themselves once again. But I am Earth and I always remember.