They Watched

[+ Hiro Jones]

   They watched. They had seen the first photons whizzing away from that tiny point so full of potential for so long. They smiled as electrons nudged their way into existence and laughed as the protons, neutrons, and electrons (though they called them by other names) coalesced into matter. That matter joined together to form substances that still spread far away from their place of birth, changing and growing as they zoomed along.

   They watched nebulae, the great glowing wombs in the dark reaches continued the work, turned matter to energy to matter, shaped matter into stars, then lovingly setting them along a course that would bring new experiences and planets into their orbits. The planets themselves would continue the work in their own way, nurturing all that they touched. On many planets, the spark of life rose out of this tender lineage.

   They watched as lives - these brilliant flashes of existence lit up the planets. They watched as chloroplasts of certain life forms transformed photons from such great distances into food for themselves. They watched as other lifeforms consumed the first, growing strong from the strength garnered from starlight. They watched as these larger lifeforms succumbed to entropy and faded, becoming sustenance for smaller lifeforms, which in turn shared the starlight with the planet.

   They watched as a very few lifeforms gained the ability to dance among the stars themselves. Like the first photons, they sped far and wide from their place of birth, changing and growing as they zoomed along. They watched as the star dancers encountered their cousins among the stars. They watched as the tumultuous choreography of evolution brought new shape to what was and what could be. The star dancers grew, and still they watched. Some, like the lifeforms who shared their starlight, fostered harmony as they shared what they had and grew strong together.

   They watched. Some who once flitted through the stars no longer did. Stars would give what light they had, dim, and collapse, becoming something new. While the light they gave billions of years previously still had yet to meet a curious eye, the once-star inhaled deeply, preparing for its next song. They watched.

   They watched as a life form from a small blue planet, third daughter of a yellow star, looked up and took in the ancient photons meant for no other ends than this, and chloroplast-like, transformed it into dreams. They smiled as the being turned dreams to vision, vision to reality, then lovingly set them along their own courses.