The light twists and bounces in my eyes. Warm and scratchy on my stomach, the pavement around the pool is surprisingly comfortable, if I do not move. I love the way water refracts light, and on the bottom of the “baby pool”, a mere foot or two deep, the effect is hypnotizing. For me, the only good light is natural light, by which I mean sunlight. Sure, fire is a close second and fireworks are also very cool, but there is nothing like good old sunlight to cure headaches and soul aches and whatever else. A deep breath, in and out, then my head falls forward and rests on the inside edge of the pool. A thick stream of small, spherical shadows cuts across the twisting light patterns, catching my attention. I refocus my eyes on the source of the shadows. The jet directly beneath me squirts another cloud of bubbles, accompanied by a rapid succession of small popping sounds, like a small collection of pencils rolling down a desk. A few seconds later, another blast of bubbles, accompanied by the same sound. The bubbles stay in the stream of water from the jet for a small time before the strength of the current forces them out, and they catch swirling counter currents; each bubble's path different by only the slightest margin from its neighbors. A little under half a minute later, another blast and crackle come from the jet. My eyes follow one bubble’s momentary life; small from birth, it falls out of the current quickly, and drifts on eddies, gradually slowing until it pops. My eyes blur, and my head fell a little farther forward…
Born in turmoil, moving quickly, mostly empty space with a few extraordinarily rapidly moving giant objects, chaotically colliding. A second passes or an eternity, depending on perspective. Slowing to a less tumultuous state, the environment begins to be more comfortable and moderate, and in one bubble out of a million, in that bubble right there, creatures with consciousness, with souls, begin to take form. Civilizations come and go, passing before my eyes, here and gone in an instant. I can see the inhabitants of the bubble going about their daily lives; I can see their political turmoil, their billboards and slogans and the struggle of their lives, collectively striving for, what? for peace and harmony? for instantaneous gratification? for mere survival? Their small lives and dreams, meaningless accomplishments and struggles, come and go in an instant. Then the bubble pops.
