I plan to live forever. So far, so good.

“Something miraculous may be happening on this planet, on our tiny blue pearl. Humanity may well find itself on the threshold of an evolutionary step, a step that could happen with lightning-quick speed, a step such as happens only every billion years. And the change that is leading us towards this step is happening before our very eyes or rather behind our eyes in the depths of our own spirits.” – Peter Russel

This is the story of a bubble. A common bubble from an equally common carbonated drink bottle. The story of any bubble. Any bottle. Any carbonated drink. The story of all the bubbles…

The bubble looked around. A strange world surrounded it. The bubble didn’t know what everything meant. It was just the world, and nothing else. The world of bubbles. That’s how the bubble first began to wonder. Our pondering bubble remained like that for a few bottle shakes. Up to one amazing split second. The second that it realized there were more bubbles around. Lots of them. They were quivering. The entire world was thriving with motion. And not only did the bubbles move, but they were also growing in size…

The bubble was confused. All the concepts and ideas about the world surrounding it had suddenly evaporated. There was nothing left except the world and the bubbles in it. It was as if the world itself had increased in size, due to some strange event. Our bubble started wondering about the mere purpose of bubbles everywhere. While it was doing this, a nearby bubble started expanding to an unbelievable size. And suddenly, the unthinkable happened! The bubble detached itself from the place where it stood and flew away. Our bubble watched it go higher and higher, and eventually vanishing into the distance. In a state of utter bewilderment, it began to look in every direction. Flying bubbles were now all around it. Enormous bubbles, as well as extremely small ones, were detaching themselves from the locations where they were firmly placed, flying higher and higher, and fading away slowly until they finally disappeared…

The bubble felt puzzled. Nothing was the same as before. There was a single certainty: the idea that every bubble could fly. This revelation made our bubble wonder whether it could fly just like the others. After waiting for a little while, it couldn’t help noticing that, unlike the rest of the bubbles, it wasn’t growing larger. It kept an invariable size, while thousands of bubbles around it were expanding and flying away. It was as if a concealed force was keeping it attached to the place where it had resided since the beginning. Was that fate, punishment or divine providence? One thing was for sure: it couldn’t fly like the other bubbles. Beyond that fact, a heavy mist reigned undisturbed…

The bubble was mystified. Who was responsible for all this injustice? For a brief moment, the thought that the bubble itself could be the one to blame blazed like a meteor on the clear night sky. But that was unacceptable! Even for a bubble. The thing that made it stop contemplating the reasons for it not being able to fly was a sudden impulse that caused the entire world to move. It felt as if the universe was bending sideways. The firmament was sliding down towards the bubbles. It felt peculiar that, although our bubble couldn’t fly away to reach the place all the flying bubbles were heading to, the dreamland was now descending towards it. All the bubbles started shaking harder than ever before. Even the more distant ones, that seemed to be somewhere at the other end of the world, were anxiously watching the strange phenomenon. All of a sudden, the bubbles at the outermost point were attracted by the long-awaited dreamland. Afterwards, the firmament started to withdraw. Where it had been, there was nothing left. The heavens had brought total obliteration…

The bubble felt afraid. Afraid of the dreamland. Afraid of flying. Afraid of growing in size. Afraid of existing. The skies had left a trace that our bubble was unable to comprehend. No bubble that had been there remained intact. They had all disappeared. The bubble was completely disillusioned. It sought to shrink back to the point where it would cease to exist, as the sorrow was unbearable. Surprisingly, as our bubble was seeking destruction, thousands of other bubbles appeared out of nowhere in all the remotest points of the world, following the trace left by the firmament. Life emerged again. Motion prevailed once more, and this time it was more intense than ever. Our bubble then realized that it hadn’t witnessed the annihilation of thousands of bubbles. It had witnessed their rescue. And they were rescued only to allow the birth of other bubbles…

The bubble was enlightened. It was overwhelmed by a vast feeling of fulfillment. Our bubble then began to expand, and it finally unfastened, soaring slowly towards the heavens. A force like no other was pulling it higher. Ultimately, it reached the dreamland. That very moment, our bubble left its world and it was absorbed by the Great Bubble outside. The shape and size of the world that had been its shelter became clear: it was the shape of a simple bottle. So simple, so small, providing a narrow, distorted view of the Great Bubble. Our bubble then smiled, thinking at its previous unawareness and ignorance. Afterwards, it sank in the Immensity of the Great Bubble…