Within the blackness, the Bodies and Sullymun would flourish. They filled the Blackness with the light they carry in their minds and hearts. And all were joyous for the newest coupling to be. Unorthodox yet optimistic, all gathered to celebrate the union between Bassunt, the Ground Body, and Blowss, the Water Body. Their love will be one filled with trial and trouble, but before then we must speak of the ceremony. Family and friends came to support, bringing gifts and stories to share.
Blowss’s older sisters spoke on the story of how she had come to be. How they watched their mother and father carve her from the ice and dust given to them from the Sullymun.
“Give her long flowing hair for me to braid,” one sister had told their parents.
“Give her soft rosy cheeks for me pinch and powder,” had said another.
“Give her a sweet-sounding voice, so we may sing together,” had requested a third.
The final sister, always shy and quiet, admitted to her parents that she wanted something for Blowss as well. “Give her big eyes that shine with all the love she’s carved with. So we may know how alive she truly is.”
Bassunt’s younger sister, Oomas, Mother Moon, the seer of the night, spoke during the union as well. Despite her mild bitterness towards her divorce with Onos, Father Sun, she was thrilled for her brother’s happiness. She shared the story of how Bassunt met Blowss. And this is what she said, “My dear sweet brother, let me share the truth of your love.” And so she did;
Bassunt, young and full, was helping her and Oonees, Moon Child, traverse the Blackness. He spoke to his nephew of the spirits we know today but may not recognise. Then five beautiful Ice Bodies crossed their path. One had long flowing hair, another had soft rosy cheeks. The third was singing to entertain her companions, a sweet voice spilled from her lips. The fourth was quiet but watched with shining eyes.
But the last and youngest of them was the most beautiful of all. Hair styled in hundreds of intricate braids, and cheeks powdered to perfection. A voice hypnotizing enough that a single word could soothe a thousand armies. With eyes so bright and alive they sparkled, and when she looked towards Bassunt, those same eyes filled with emotions that all present could never mistake as anything less than love. However Blowss was embarrassed by her sisters’ cooing and the scrutinising protectiveness of Oomas that she fled, and Bassunt followed.
They travelled the blackness for what could have been years for us but were merely days for them. And once Bassunt caught up with Blowss, he knelt down and looked up into her sparkling eyes, and he said to her;
“If you would listen for a moment, I would give you the most precious of minerals. I would recount the nicest of stories and tell you the sweetest of messages. I would hunt every spirit for you. I would give you anything, I would even give you my heart, if you would have it.”
And the sweet Blowss with her sweet voice answered him;
“Your words are generous, but I have no need of minerals nor of any stories or messages, and I would rather you spare the spirits. However, if you offer me your heart, then I should only accept such a gift if you accept my own heart in return.”
And so Oomas’s tale comes to a close, and the union is complete.
The newlyweds dance together for eons. Lived between Oomas and Onos. But tragedy must strike the most fortunate, and soon, too soon, Bassunt falls ill. The Water Body, once ice and so close to Father Sun, began to melt slowly. Green begins to blossom and spread across the Ground Body. Roots restricted his movements, melted water weighed down on him and drowned his breath, his joints solidified and his skin became muddy. He did not blame his wife. And despite Blowss’s loving efforts, and Oomas’s determined actions, Bassunt’s final breath is spoken as reassurings to those he loves. Bassunt, the Ground Body became the mountains and hills we walk on, became the fields some grow their food.
Blowss refused to let go of her lover. She held him in trembling arms and shook, these are the earthquakes that move our homes. Her cries and whispered pleas for Bassunt to awake became the wind that howl around us. Her tears flowed into the rivers we know now.
Onos wanted to comfort her, yet when he placed a hand upon her shoulder, her body melted into the seas and oceans. But her heart and mind, still grieving, stayed frozen. They became the snow wastes, the barren dunes our Bok-Tarse settled all those years ago, before our time.
Blowss’ sisters grieved for her, and still grieve for her, their tears drop to the dirt and water. And from their tears – the rain – the green that plagued the Ground Body grew. Sprouts to saplings, and saplings to trees. Birthed from the love of Bassunt and Blowss, Bok – which in the old language means tree – was given life.
Oomas and Onos saw this orphaned thing and pitied them. They stayed to watch over them, Father Sun then Mother Moon, day and night. They watched as Bok became forests and created new plants from their roots. Watched as they found their way into the water as seaweed, and reached just below peaks as shrubs, but never able to reach their mother’s heart or mind in the wastes.
And for years, Bok was lonely. The Bodies and Sullymun sent the spirits to keep them company, but not all stayed within the shadowing woods. Some fled to the oceans, others sulked in caves higher than Bok could grow. One left to live here in the wastes. And so Bok became lonely again.
One day, Bok had had enough of being lonely and decided to grow new life. Not the life that lives in one place, but life that can explore and find. Life that can build. Bok used roots to carve a body and limbs, used seaweed for hair and fungus for soft skin. After nine days and nights, the first human opened its eyes and cried. It had come from the Blackness and was enthralled by all the light had let it see, but it also wanted to return to the Blackness’ blanketing warmth.
Bok then spoke to it, they said, “you will return in time, but meanwhile grow, explore, learn, build. Keep me company and I shall give you all you need.”
And the Bok-Tarse did. It was given companions, and they grew food to eat. It made friends and explored the seas. It found children and helped them learn language. It had a family and they built a home. And soon, very soon, those homes became villages, and those villages became kingdoms. And eventually, life that Bok had made was able to live in their mother’s heart and mind. And Bok was no longer lonely.
Bok was given life and gave us life in return.
About the Author
Lokina Comishin Kromberg was raised in middle-of-nowhere Quebec by a lake, then moved to Nelson where she is currently taking the creative writing program at Selkirk College. She has an affinity for nature, space, bunnies and the colour blue, all things she often incorporates into her creative endeavors. She is hoping to create worlds that are as exciting to readers as they are to her.
