11

Long ago, before Earth, before light, and before dark, a heartbeat began to thud, eons away from the blue planet’s birth place.
Lifetimes away, a cold hand pressed against fiery ground. Nails dug into volcanic ash. Fingers drowned gently in roasted soil.
This place of cold heart, and warm land, was called Io.
A fiery beast of passion, Io prowled, stalked and watched over Jupiter. The fire within it’s’ core driving it towards insanity as it watched it’s beloved planet rotate in isolation.
Io could touch no thing, and no one. It was a beast of passion, cursed and left in solitude by its own flames.
To touch Jupiter, to even come close to it, would render the peaceful gas giant to nothing.
And so Io lived alone.
A lonely star among billions, until the fateful day a heartbeat began, and touched the ground of Io.
This ice white hand and frozen heart, belonged to no thing of name, it was a creature of silence, of beauty, and derived itself from Io’s fires. It took it’s breath from Saturn’s rings, it’s eyes from burning nebula’s, it’s soul from stars.
Its’ skin, made of fire, could feel no heat. It could walk Io’s land and remain unscathed. Its heart, made of light, could see no end.
It stood. Grand upon Io’s highest peak and raised its slender neck, straining one ice white hand towards Jupiter. The distance rendering the planet so small, the creature could grasp it in its hand, and a smile ever so slightly lined its porcelain lips.
It called out, and Io heard it’s cry.
Io turned, and in horror, saw the white flesh of this creature as it stood proudly on Io’s molten rock surface, flames circulating it’s slender form.
Io watched this creature’s sickly sweet smile; it’s dead sparkling eyes, as Jupiter rested in its palm, from so far away.
“Name yourself!” Roared Io, trembling in fury as it’s mountains began to crumble, it’s volcanoes beginning to erupt white flames of passionate aggression.
The creature just stood. It’s cold but beautiful eyes rested on Io’s as it tilted it’s head gently, and watched this explosion of emotion.
Emotion. The creature could not name it, it could not feel it, for while it’s heart beat, it beat for nothing.
It turned it’s head towards Jupiter again, and began to walk towards it, it’s cold feet dragging against Io’s back as he roared in agony and in fear for his beloved planet.
The creature walked faster as Io roared. It’s feet moved quicker and kicked red ash. It’s silver hair pulled back against it’s neck as it’s legs began to bend, and the creature began to run.
It’s lungs filled with fire as Io bellowed in anger, it’s eyes gently watered as it ran through smoke and dust. But it still ran.
It slammed its heels into molten ground, traced it’s hands through fiery air, as it came closer and closer to Io’s love.
Io began to plead, the fires of its fear and passion turning blue and red under sparkling stars.
The creature could not understand his words. It could not begin to contemplate the pain in Io’s soul as he watched this figure run towards Jupiter, helpless to defend.
A peak jutted out from Io’s surface, facing Jupiter, and the creature had begun to leap and dart through the fiery cracks of this beast to reach this jagged fragile rock.
Io roared once more.
The creature froze and met his burning eyes. Saw the pain that lined them, and merely watched in confusion.
It pointed to Jupiter again, it’s eyes never leaving Io’s.
Io spoke again, imploring the creature to cease. The white figure of icy heart merely smiled, it’s black starry eyes void of emotion, void of empathy.
It took a step forward, onto the jagged cliff of Io’s surface.
The fear within Io shook his core, and it burned brighter and brighter as he contemplated losing his own purpose in life; his silent lonely planet.
The fire grew and grew until Io’s ribs, Io’s earth surface, could no longer withstand the flames of his heart. Io’s heart, had begun to tear apart, and as it did, it tore at Io’s surface, ripping apart rock, thrusting mountains aside, heaving land forward with lava and fury.
The lonely star of passion had begun to destroy itself, to destroy the creature void of life.
In one final, desperate attempt, Io roared once more as the creature traced its feet against this harsh ground, lifting one foot out over the cliff face.
Both watched each other, In silence, in misunderstanding and confusion.
Lifting itself up, the creature rested on one toe, gravity raising its form higher, and it was in this moment, as its hand reached for Jupiter that Io’s heart broke.
The flame and passion of Io tore at the creature’s cold heart, as the star’s core imploded, and the two beasts collided.
An inferno of ice white and burning red circulated one another, faster and faster they spun as a star collapsed within itself, and tore the white creature within.
Taking light, and stars, nebulas and two souls, the inferno of passion and ice spun.
Falling into itself quicker and quicker, tearing life into a black abyss of molten rock, and sparkling black, Io remained silent, and watched as darkness grew, and his lonely planet fell from view.
In fear and in death, Io and the white creature reached out for one another, both so unaware of each other’s intentions, each others plight, and failing to care in these final moments of certain end.
The white creature could do nothing but part its icy lips, for it had no voice, no language of tongue.
In the mass of dark, light, stars and souls, its eyes bore into Io’s, and Io, in agony stared back.
In this moment of raw emotion, raw fear and certainty, all froze.
Two beasts in silence, each watched the other’s soul reach its final moment, all the while, the lonely gas giant of Jupiter spun, again, and again, and again.
Dancing over destruction.
And in one spark of unity, one final glance, the creature of white, and the beast of heart, were gone.
And the lonely planet forever spun, without it’s beast of love, and it’s creature of soul.