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Hope & Despair

Prologue:
This consists of verses from the book of Genesis, in the Old Testament, along with further additions made by the author. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form and

void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the water . As the spirit hovered, it coagulated with the void and brought it to life. Gaia was born.
Young, innocent and nave, Gaia was brought to life with a purpose, she was given the burden of a huge responsibility. Which God felt her worthy of; Gaia was to look after all that was going to be created. They were going to be her sons and daughters. Gaia was unsure if she had the capability of bearing this responsibility, but God gave her courage, God gave her the strength and God reassured her that he would always be there to watch over her, and this gave her the confidence to go about her responsibilities. Six children were created and handed over to Gaia, the eldest three were triplets, Thalasa (Sea), Ouranos(Sky) and Edofos (Land). They were to assist Gaia with her duties and take care of her. The next two to be born were Vegetation and Living Organisms, these two were a fun and loving. They were easily accepted by the other siblings and were loved dearly by Gaia. Finally came man.

God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female her created them
He was the youngest born, and the most loved by both Gaia and God. And loved was the most he forever more.

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The Final Plunge:

She stood on the edge of the rock, and one more step would end it. The pain that she was going through we finally disappear, the sorrow that she was living in wouldnt be there anymore and the she wouldnt disappoin t another soul ever again. She really wanted to do this, her heart raced as she stared at the setting sun. The cliff that she stood on was completely deserted, there was no one to see her fall, and there was no one to stop her, not one to console her. Her legs felt numb as she continued to stand there, she had known that there was no turning back. And that the only way out was to take the plunge, which she wouldnt survive. The waves lashed against the rugged surface of the rocks below and tirelessly continued to do so. A gust of harsh wind blew past her and she felt misbalanced for a second, but she managed to stabilize herself. She wanted to mentally prepare herself for the fall, she wanted to calm her nerves and makes sure that the last moments of her life wouldnt be those of cowardice or fear. Gaia had always known that she would die young, though she possessed the gift of immortal beauty she still wished that it would all end soon. It was high time, she didnt want to wait and watch as this gift was tried and tested by everyone around her. Though initially she dreaded aging, over time she got accustomed to the process and was now comfortable with it, she was comfortable with her life for quite a long time. But after a while she was forcing the feeling of comfort, everything around her caused her pain and suffering, but through it all she stood strong and resilient, she had hope, she had faith. She was under the illusion that it would all stop, eventually. But finally her mistaken impression was broken and the repercussions felt by this realization were disastrous. But then still, she had never known that her life was to end so early. How was she to know that such situations were to happen? How could she let this happen? She refused to let her mind remind her of what happened. She preferred not to think about it, she was scared that she would break down again. Gaia would have been disgusted with herself if she broke down here, right now.

As she started to count down the moments to the jump, memories of Creation flashed through her mind. The memories of all the laughter, joy and happiness which existed in those days filled up her soul and this weakened her. As these memories flashed through her mind, a tear started to trickle down Gaias face. She hurriedly wiped the tear, and shook her head. She tried to push the memories away from her mind; she wanted to erase those memories. Why did

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she have to remember them now? She hated the guilt that was seeping into her mind; she didnt want to think about the consequences of her actions. But it wasnt so; her mind was now clouded with different memories, each of which added to the hesitation that started to plague her mind. This was the last thing that she wanted; she did not want go hesitate. She did not want doubt to set in, she wanted to be strong and she was doing the right thing, she had known this. Gaia started to hate herself right now; she hated this weak and fearful little girl that was wailing inside her. She started taking deeps breaths, and as she did so she stabbed the little girl to death and let the murderous maniac loose in her mind. The maniac was fearless, she was confident and strong. And this was Gaia in her true form. As the sun started to disappear in the horizon, Gaia had known that it was time. With each passing second, Gaia started to shed the layers of her past. The let the numbness engulf her body, and her mind was blank. She wouldnt let her children suffer any longer and she herself wouldnt suffer anymore, and this pleased her. A small smile flickered across her face, she was proud of herself. She was now fearless. She was now strong, and soon she would be free. Darkness enveloped the surroundings, and as a young nightingale started to chirp its last evening melody, Gaia took the plunge. Though the whole event finished off in a few seconds, the final few seconds of Gaias life were the important ones. As she came crashing down into the rocky surface of the sea shore, the first thought that came to her mind was that of her youngest son betraying her, and of the day when he vowed to take her life, as she continued to hit the hard rocks her shoulder smashed against a tree trunk, and the memory of her youngest son poisoning her other children flashed across her mind. The wailing cries of her second born, and the silent tears shed by her eldest child, these haunted Gaia in the final moments. She had known that she should have done something, she had known she should have stopped her youngest born from causing others so much pain. But Gaia had a soft corner for him, she was hopeful that he would change. And she was forevermore disappointed. The end was now near, and Gaia was bruised and battered. As she crashed down the final few edges of the cliff she could see her eldest daughter with her arms wide open, ready to take her in. This site pleased Gaia, the thought of spending the final moments of her life with her daughter wiped away all the other memories from her mind. The moment Gaia fell into her daughters hands, her life ended. The pain stopped and her soul was finally free. This was the end.

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Epilogue:
That night a lifeless corpse fell into the sea, one which was forced into desperation, humiliated for centuries, agonized and tortured till her dying moment. That night a damaged soul had been released from its imprisonment, in the hope of finding a place of solace and relief from all the pain and betrayal life (especially her last born) had put her through.