Heart And Soul

• Rohan Webb, Grade 12, Katanning Senior High School
• Short Story
• 2019

Excellence Award in the 'Just Keep Writing 2019' competition

Black...
That's all he could see. It was a perfect opportunity to fill this void with whatever he could think of, with nothing to shackle his mind. It was an endless void of emptiness that he could fill with anything to his desire. The only time he was able to free himself from reality and relax. The only time in the world that he could truly enjoy peace. He was calm.
The sky lit up brightly with moonlight and stars. A rolling field of long grass materialised all around below him. Amongst it - two poles and a comfortable, sandy-yellow hammock stretched across them. Noise of crashing waves carried over to him from the distance. The beach could not be seen. He floated down to the soft grass and sunk right in to his knees. A gentle smell of vanilla tinted the air.
He waded to the hammock to climb in and watch the endless skies of infinite worlds. The soft linen rocked ever so gently with the quiet wind. He was calm to the extent where if he were to fall asleep, he would never wake up.
Markus wandered his mind. Another planet appeared above his: a tiny, barren rock. It started to swell and turn yellow until it was the size of the moon. The hue of the sand began to deepen until it was slightly browned, and the planet continued to grow still. Landmarks formed. Pillars of sandstone, plateaus with caves and coral grew all over. Then the world turned teal and the sound of waves came slightly louder. A new planet was born.
But it still needed something. Markus added to his daydream - tiny specks of glowing fish popped into existence all over the planet. The colours of the glowing lifeforms: orange, green, blue, pink - were a stark contrast to the darkness of space.
Markus raised his arm, made a gentle pushing gesture, and the oceanic ball floated off to join the other stars in the night sky. The sound of water folding in on itself faded.
He decided he would make a change in this world. Markus crawled out of his hammock and stood up in the flowing grass fields. Behind him, the two trees crumbled and the hammock floated away with the wind until it could not be seen.
Markus crouched and outstretched his long, slender arm. He planted an open palm onto a bare patch of dirt at his feet. He removed his hand and a small plant appeared. It grew. Swiftly but gently it increased in size until it became a monolith of an oak tree with branches reaching out to the heavens. Markus walked to one of the thickest roots and sat down on the gentle, smooth surface.
As he looked up at the sky, the blackness of such a void transitioned into a sun that illuminated the now bright blue skies. Markus fell asleep in the warmth of the sun and the gentle breeze flowing through his long, blonde hair…