Darkness. Thick weary.
None could draw lethargic Past to Present, and bade him sit, and wait. Forever behind he would remain, but Space could not tell this to him; Space was too shy. And Non-Existence shook her filthy mane, standing to the side, afraid to tell her ex-lover, afraid to name names.
They all knew what approached, one and two: God and Future. There had never been Future, though they all knew Past.
Then, though none could say when, they felt the appearance of a murky sphere, bubbling and splashing like viscous mud. A rumbling shook them all, and though the words, "Let there be light," were meaningless to them, they knew it meant for certain that it had happened: God had come.
When Light bloomed over the form of the sphere, all thought they were dreaming. But Past could not bear it, and hid his face; and has been hiding ever since.
God smiled. God amazed them, for He, too, was Form. Like the distant creation of a statue, "David," he was sculpted and fine, with thick, long hair, glimmering blue eyes and pouting lips. He stood naked and magnificent, suspended in Space.
Space blushed.
"This is Day," he remarked of Light, and what had always been he called Night. With these they knew for certain that Future had come, and would live always in the promise of the following Day.
God continued, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." A brilliant sheen of blue and gold swept over their faces, splashing and shining like Light, and was gone. This had been Heaven. They could not find it again.
Now God said, "Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear." A fiery substance erupted from the floor of the waters, and build upon itself until a great mass of land was made. They were awed by His Power, for none of them knew how to Create.
"He is Beautiful," said Space, reveling that God stood within her, touching her, being touched by her; God did not seem to notice, but Space did not mind.
"This is Earth," he grinned, caressing its loamy surface. "And these," he said, moving his left hand to the waters, "These are the Seas."
"How good," he murmured, repeating it several times. He stood back.
"Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth!" How delighted they were! So many magnificent things sprouted up from the lifeless soil - verdant grasses, towering trees, vegetables and fruits and grains, more than any of them had ever begun to imagine. It was Summer on Earth.
And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth." Light scattered itself, scintillating and crackling into the pits of Dark, and made myriad shimmering orbs. One remained close, that it still illuminated the sphere, though only half received its full glow at a time. From it Light further flew to wrap itself against half a bit of rock that had flown from Earth, and again to press against Earth itself.
Four Days had passed.
"Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven." Then, almost as an afterthought, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply on the earth." Great beasts rose up in the Seas, with scales and fins and sandpapery skin, and some of them had scarcely form at all, and were eaten by the larger, who were eaten by the larger, and so it went until there was nothing larger to consume. Above formed fluttering creatures reminiscent of the Heaven, with soft thin wings to soar through Air. "What a God I am!" he cried, nearly dancing with rapturous pride.
Calmed, he continued, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth after his kind." Now there came massive beasts who trumpeted, stampeded, fought and wrestled and loved, with fur, horns, fangs, hooves and thick tough skins. Tiny creatures possessing many legs, and those with none at all, spread across the Earth. They found their homes in the soil and trees and beasts themselves; they buzzed, crawled, slithered and droned; Past grew quite certain he had made the proper choice.
Now God felt bold, and thought he should like some more companionable creatures: something more like himself. He said, "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." So they formed, a Woman and Man, small and covered with leaves, holding hands and gazing about in wonder. God blessed them in his Glory. "Be fruitful and multiply," he said to them, and they smiled at the sound of his smooth, young voice. "And replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." He waited expectantly. They stared around. The Woman rubbed her nose.
"Behold!" God cried, and they jumped. "I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat!"
Then Man knelt and thanked him, falling on the Earth; and Woman fell with him, and they kissed the soil and grass, thanking him for Beauty, thanking him for Life.
Now God smiled a grand, Divine smile, surveying all he had made. "And it is very good," he said to himself, "It is very very good."
"Where is Non-Existence?" Present suddenly asked. There was no response.
It was the sixth Day.