The Island of Sinalia

The river ran backwards on the day the Queen vanished. Not a trace of her was left behind, not even the magic she had used to create the utopia that had been thriving for decades. It was called Sinalia, and was a gorgeous place.

Magic ran deep in the land, for it was all made by the hand of Queen Ahimsa. Her heart and generosity created the very ground, the very grass each citizen was standing on, as they watched the river change direction in horror.

It flooded backwards, moving faster and stronger than ever before. Boats were overturned and all manner of sea creatures were displaced, some being washed up to the crowded banks.

Panic quickly arose in the people. Messengers rushed to the palace, sat at the water’s edge, resting in the cool shadow of an enormous mountain. Officials went out to calm the people, moving everyone out of the path of the growing flood and collecting what resources they could rescue on their way. A search party was conducted in the palace once the Queen’s chambers were determined to be empty. Her sudden disappearance caused further distress, and rumours spread quickly through their small island kingdom. Everyone knew of her magic; it wasn’t a well kept secret. But most weren’t aware of the extent of her abilities, and could only find reasons to blame Queen Ahimsa for the river flowing out of control.

Just as God created the universe, Ahimsa created Sinalia, pulled land from the ocean and plucked stars from the heavens to create such a place of beauty. It was perfect: not a tree nor pebble out of place, not one person on the island who was harmed or harassed. They lived in peace and tranquillity for many long years. However, over time the people forgot their own history, and instead of the everlasting gratitude they promised to their Queen, they became greedy and bitter. Soon, the trees and pebbles were wrong, and conflicts began between them.

Ahimsa tried her best to recreate the love and care she had first felt for this land and these people, but after a lifetime of granting wishes to undeserving folk, hearing their hateful comments and turning the other cheek, she decided enough was enough. Gone were the days that she would do just about anything to make life simple and easy for them. Gone was her heart and soul for the place she had once decided to call home. Gone was her love for the people she had saved.

And so she let go.

Queen Ahimsa let go of the magic, of holding together the life she had meticulously created with the power she was born with. She let go of the control she had, over the weather, over the creatures, over nature. She let it all reset to how it was before, before she arrived and changed it all.

The first thing that changed was, of course, the river. Rather than leading out to the ocean, it forced it way back in, racing uphill and towards the city centre. It had such a profound impact, and caused such a fuss, no-one really noticed anything else happening until it was far too late to do anything.

The animals started dropping, disappearing from homes and fields alike in a matter of minutes. Buildings began to fall in on themselves, caving in as if they were made of pieces of straw. Even the food, grown and harvested entirely from the island, quickly became inedible, moulding to the point of growing new diseases before the first bite could be taken.

By midday, the people had decided there must be something seriously wrong with their Queen for this to happen. Ahimsa wanted to give them one final chance to earn her back, so created clues as to where she had disappeared to. Not one person, not family nor friend, spent more than a minute looking before deciding to save only themselves instead. They created makeshift vessels from the wreckages and tried to escape, forgetting they were all originally saved by the Queen. Their fate belonged to her.

Queen Ahimsa stood atop the mountain, watching the devastation unfold before her eyes. Even isolated and alone, she felt more at peace with only herself for company than she had felt with an entire island of people.

As the land slowly sank back below the ocean waves, she caught one last glimpse of her people, before she turned her back on them for good.