The Dance of Creation pt.1

It was an August evening. The Lilies Park was, as always, crowded with young boys and girls intent on doing their best to understand the gifts they received at birth. Despite the apparent silent nature, there was a lot of movement around the fire caused by the curiosity of the newcomers.

One of the older guys was telling them how it all began. Despite the typical struggle of teenagers to maintain attention, most of those present were hanging on the mouth of that improvised storyteller. The boy, in his late twenties, with brown hair and hazel eyes, wet his lips before starting.

"So…." he said in a mysterious tone, "Do you know the myth of Thebribes?"

None of those present provided an answer, on the contrary some even shook their heads in denial.

The man smiled. "Thebribes is the primordial being from which everything was born. It is said that he was alone, in the complete darkness of nothingness", there was a short pause, "Thebribes found a mask in nothingness. He was curious, he saw the eye holes. He realized he could wear it and he did. Then, after a while, he began to move and dance in total freedom. You should have seen how happy he was, he couldn't stop laughing with joy, he was having so much fun."

The brown-haired man was pleased to see his audience open their eyes wide, then he focused his gaze on the crackling flames.

"He realized he was alone, but he didn't stop spinning. It was at that moment that the dance of creation began. With one movement he generated from nothing a solid ground on which to hover, thus the earth was born."

The newcomers seemed to understand where he was going with his tale. Slowly some comrades who had been present for a longer period approached with drums and began to play. An ever-increasing pace that quickly tuned into the audience's heartbeat.

The storyteller continued: "There couldn't be earth everywhere. Much more was needed, the sky, for example. Here with a simple step he created it from nothing! Then, he needed to quench his thirst. One step", he imitated the movement and moved his hands outwards, as if to push something towards them, "Behold how he created the sea! Following the Sun, the Moon and the stars! Nature, animals and so on..."

A little girl from the crowd, about twelve years old, stood up. "Like God?"

The storyteller made a slight grimace before sitting down again, he smiled at his interlocutor kindly.

"Thebribes is the primordial being, certainly not a simple god!" He replied mockingly.

"The fact is... at a certain point he got tired of dancing, so he decided to take a break. He thought of taking refuge in a place far from the light to finally be able to rest."

Having concluded his short story, the young storyteller stood up with the intention of leaving. Before he could do so, however, he was called by the same girl who had interrupted him earlier.

"And then what happened?"

"Oh, do you want me to continue? I thought this was enough."

"Yes!" The new arrivals responded in chorus.

"Well, it looks like it's going to be a long night," he replied as he sat down, "It's time to talk about our parents: the actual gods."

A female figure approached the demigods around the fire, but decided to keep her distance from the group. She peered at the man, who had told of the dance of Thebribes, through the holes of her white mask. The storyteller noticed her after a few minutes and took a pause to nod, a gesture of respect. The woman remained motionless and did not reveal any expressions, a sign that she did not want to receive any attention. Her white dress blew in the light late summer breeze, but her amber eyes reflected a disarming steadfastness. The narrator swallowed, sensing the woman's divine aura through that gaze, but managed to hide his fear behind a smiling face and continue.

"When Thebribes began to dance, he inevitably created the world we know. In doing so, he magically infused life even where previously there was only nothingness. Involuntarily we were created as spectators, people who could admire his dance", the boy lowered his gaze, "Thebribes had noticed that he was different from the others, that men were not like him. One day he saw a child smiling at him then realized he was being watched by an elderly man. Even though he had a lot of company, he couldn't erase the loneliness from his soul."

"So what did he do?" asked a little boy from the crowd.