Author Information
The Mountain
Alexis Prado Martínez
Karla Yolanda Ortiz Giordano
The Mountain
Long ago, when the universe was but an idea in His mind, there was chaos. So, driven by his desire to bring order, He created it all: a scorching Sun to loom overhead to keep time in order, innumerable blinking dots to decorate the black void, a Moon to serve as the nightly counterpart of Sun, and a giant sphere which He named “Earth.” This seemingly insignificant desolate orb was, peculiarly, His magnum opus. The barren planet lacked ebullience, so He caused green petals, leaves, and stems to blossom from the empty ground, and engulfed empty valleys with torrents of water, fabricating potent seas, serene rivers, and tranquil ponds in the blink of an eye. However, this form of life did not provide satisfaction to Him. Thus, He felt the need to summate heterogenous creatures and endow them with the ability to decide their own fate. Using clay, He gave shape to creatures of all sizes and shapes, and He dispersed them on His creation.
For many months, the creatures dwelled in harmony with no need of other commodities. From the planet’s odyssey around the Sun emerged an unforeseen dilemma. Under the frosty grip of winter, the animals suffered. Seeing his creatures grapple with survival provoked in Him a necessity to ease their troubles. Hence, he grasped the surface and extended it towards the skies, forming what He would later name “the mountain of fire”. The instructions were simple: the creatures must visit it, light only the number of branches they needed, and bring them to their dwellings for their personal uses. This was a manna to the creatures, for they thrived with new opportunities and their survival multiplied tenfold.
Yet, one sly creature sought to possess the fire for himself. Armed with a heap of wood, he made the trek up the mountain of fire. One by one, he ignited each branch. Contented with his acquisition, he became a hermit in his den with his bountiful fire. It did not take long for the other creatures to realize how, after the first day, he never made his way back to the mountain of fire. Suspicion and intrigue spread through the animals, and they started to feel discomfort. One night, they decided to search his place in order to satisfy their curiosity. When they saw what he had done, they urged the greedy animal to return the fire and apologize but he resisted and did not succumb to their insistence.
The creatures tried to conceal the misbehavior of the other, for they were scared of His reaction. By trying to hide it, matters only got worse and eventually He intervened. How could He be disappointed by the actions of his creations? He had no other choice than to extinguish the fire from the iconic mountain, causing chaos amongst the once-peaceful creatures. As a final punishment, He caused the fire mountain to spew fire onto the land. Thus, the first volcano was forged.
