Once upon a time, far away from where we are now, in both time and distance, something beautiful and violent began to happen. 4.5 billion years ago, a mass of dust and gas began to spin and flatten to form a disk. In the center of this disk, just beginning to form, is Sol.

Sol, a baby star, began to form when the disk spun, the heat being drawn toward him, forming a gas sphere . The sphere that would soon be our dear sun, was hungry and began to pull materials toward him to eat. He kept eating and eating, getting bigger and hotter, until he was a new star.

Sol watched as others were born, seeing how violent the process was. Meteors clashed and new planets collided. It was loud. It was violent. It was angry. It was the beginning of something important. Time passes quickly for the young star as he watched over his forming planets. But there was one planet, the third one down from him, that he really loved. It glowed a magnificent red. He loved to watch the lava shift an flow as the land rumbled, rough and unsteady.

Time continued to play tricks on Sol. He'd look away from the planet he'd named Earth for only a second to check on the others and when he'd look back, it seemed like a completely different place. It had gone from red and dangerous to blue and fierce. Waves of water roamed the planet, leaving little land left to be seen. Sol watched with interest as his favorite planet matured, as he knew it would.

Creatures that Sol couldn't name began to swim below the calming waters while others walked along the growing land. Things were changing on the planet, and it amazed Sol to no end how fast life had formed and progressed there. The planet was truly amazing. There were times when the planet was all white with snow and ice, while other times the planet was so hot the seas would grow from the melting ice caps. The land constantly moved, forming new land then breaking apart again. But, no matter how hot or how cold it was, life would go on. No matter how many pieces the world broke into, creatures would roam on every piece.

A specific creature caught Sol's eye. They stood on two legs and built tools and shelters that would last a life time. They evolved and adapted to their surroundings. When it was cold, they would find fur. When it was hot, they would keep cool. When food was short, they would make do. When food was plentiful, they would share amongst groups. Sol watched them as they endured ice ages, droughts, floods, storms, and even meteors. No matter what was thrown their way, these creatures always found a way to survive.

They quickly took over the planet, calling themselves “human”. They fought each other and helped each other. They loved each other, they hated each other. There were times when Sol was sure they would destroy each other, but at the last moment, all went quiet. Sol realized that the fighting was not just to harm each other. The fights and wars had greater meaning. They were to keep peace. But no matter the reason, the fights were bloody and sad.

Towers grew higher and higher. Technology got better and better. The humans were curious creatures. Sol watched as his favorite beings made their way across the Earth and then through the stars. Visiting one planet at a time, the Humans began to build colonies. They were clever creatures and loved solving the puzzles that made up the universe.

As Sol watched his Humans, he had not noticed himself and how he grew over the years, getting hotter and hotter. He was too distracted by the beings below. Only when the Humans began to get further and further away from him did he notice that he had, in fact, grown into a Red Giant, slowly engulfing his own planets. He watched in sorrow over what was only a day to him, but millions for the humans, as they packed and built ships to leave the doomed planet. While this upset Sol, it also made him happy. He was happy because he knew, where ever his Humans went, they were sure to survive.

Sol had been left alone, his humans long gone. Time, as it always did, slipped away from Sol, and before he knew it, he could feel himself become unstable. He knew what would come next. He would die and with his death would come a new star, new solar system, and new planets that might be lucky enough to develop their own life forms. Sol was fine with this. He had once heard a Human say, “Nothing last forever”. If Sol could smile, he would have smiled at that, thinking, “You just don't know how special you are.”