By Ginger Marin

You know how often stories begin "Once upon a time ..."?  Well, this story begins quite differently because when it began, there was no time.  No time at all, only place.

It was a dark place because there was no light.  Soil filled every cavity; dry and musty, it was. In fact, the place was quite claustrophobic and the only things that occupied this place were tiny "earth beings" that could not see, nor hear, nor smell, but only feel.

One day, if you could call it a day - a hard thing to do when there was no time - strange things dropped down from above and beat upon their shelter.  It was a strange sensation, indeed, and the vibrations caused the "earth beings" to dig themselves deeper into the ground.  As the vibrations continued they became most concerned and reached out to one another for safety.  Then once again, almost in a flash, all was well with their world and they snuggled deep in their musty holes relishing the peace and quiet they knew so well.

But soon the scary vibrations struck again, pounding their shelter harder than the last time and it lasted so much longer.  They began to fear for their tiny lives.  So again, they reached out to their neighbors - neighbors to the side, neighbors below and even to the neighbors above.  That's how scared they were.  Then suddenly, the pounding stopped.  Just like that!

Exhausted by their great effort they slept for what seemed an eternity.  But since there was no time, it was quite impossible to tell how long the sleeping really lasted.

Their dreams were filled with peace and darkness and a new sensation that they hadn't felt before.

And when they awoke from their long dark sleep, they discovered that it was no longer dark.  A warm glow was shining upon them.  In unison, they turned toward the light, now relishing this new sensation that moved within them.   

But that wasn't the only sensation they felt.  The mustiness was gone, and for that matter, so was their shelter.  There was only masses of open nothingness even though the earth beings themselves could not see this astounding new sight.  

And with their shelter gone and the warm glow filling their bodies, each now stood straight and tall, free to be whatever they were.  

But the good sensation went away as a new darkness fell upon them once again and the warm glow that they had come to love disappeared and took from them peace of mind.  Their bodies bowed in sadness.

Remember, I said earlier that I couldn't begin this story with "Once upon a time...", but I certainly can end the story this way.

Once upon a time, no one saw the rain and once upon a time there was no one to witness the rising and setting of the sun.  Then along came the flowers and other earth beings who witnessed it all.  And that is how there came to be time, time that changes everything, time that no man can stop.  

Is it time to look forward or back?  Only time will tell.