About Seed of Life
The winning story in ISEB’s 2024 Time to Write competition, Seed of Life is a beautifully constructed story about a child who finds himself catapulted 120 years into the future. What he finds there is a ruined earth, but what can an 11-year-old boy like Sirius do about it? This is a story about new beginnings and a warning to us all to look out for our planet while we are in it.
“A great introduction with sophisticated character development throughout and good use of description. The mystery is built beautifully.” The Time to Write judging panel.
About the writer
Aryan Nair is from the UK and was 11 years old at the time of writing Seed of Life. Reflecting on the book, he said, “I thought that most people would depict the future of earth as a wasted, barren land but I wanted to think differently and show that there’s still hope to fix our mistakes and that there’s always a way. After every sunset there’s sunrise.”
About the illustrator
This book was illustrated by Emily Sarssam, a dedicated artist who has been painting for many years, bringing vibrant stories to life through her art.
Seed of Life
Written by Aryan Nair
Illustrated by Emily Sarssam
I looked around and debated my chances. Others were already scurrying around frantically, trying to find a good hiding spot, when I saw a small entrance of a cavern hidden between two roots of a nearby tree. I left my hiding spot and cautiously shuffled over to the entrance. I heard a twig snap: Peter was near. I took a deep breath before squeezing myself through the small opening.
Thump! My body crashed into the hard, stony floor. Anxious, I stood up to see a small amount of light protruding from the hole in the ceiling of the cavern. I suddenly noticed a jumble of pipes and wires in the corner of the room with two doors. I walked closer to investigate. One door was made of dark oak and outlined by black nails. The handle was made of intricately carved gold. The other door was perfectly white and had LED lights rimmed around the edge. I noticed the two signs above them –120 years into the past and the other 120 years into the future.
My mind raced; I could uncover the mysteries of the past or discover the fate of our world. I slowly and uncertainly walked towards the blinding white door. As it slid back, mist bellowed out of the top of the contraption.
I was staring into an endless void, very similar to the sea, but swirling around in a hypnotic way. I took a confident step forward.
My body warped through reality and the matter in myself became one with the universe, as I broke through the barrier of time and space, cascading into the future, or now the present.
In an instant, I was lying spread eagled on the floor of the cavern. I looked up and mantled through back up the bunny hole. I looked around in horror at the barren wasteland. Huge mountains covered the earth, lava spewing out of them. Ash covered the ground like a thick blanket and the sky was no longer lit up by the sun.
As I walked around in this hellish place, I thought of how this could be prevented. If I went back to my time, I could warn people but who would believe an 11-year-old boy like me? The fate of this world could not be prevented. Walking back to the hole, to go back to the present, or maybe past, I realised there was something hard in my shoe. I ripped my shoe off and shook it, and saw a small seed fall onto the ground.
Suddenly it sprouted. It was like time was sped up here. I watched in awe as the sprout grew into a sapling, then into a small tree. Within seconds, a majestic willow tree was towering over me. Lush grass was spreading from the roots of the tree, like a ripple effect when you throw a stone into the water. Before I knew it, I was looking at verdant fields and many more trees, growing as far as I could see. Something was still missing. Looking up towards the barren, grey sky, I felt warmth on my neck. I turned around to see the majestic fireball that burns out evil and fills our world with light.
I gazed around in wonder as I heard birds chirping again. I wondered why the world had turned barren. At that moment, it came to me. Our race had ruined earth and God had wiped us out, knowing that someday a small seed of time would repopulate the earth. The world would be restored to its vivid self.
This was Earth’s second chance, but this time without humans.
Suddenly, a loud booming voice echoed through the meadow and my body suddenly weaved through time and space. I landed with a crash on the stony cave floor. I could hear footsteps above me and Peter shouting my name in concern. I turned around to take one last look at the time machine, but it was gone.
I heaved myself out of the cave once again and walked over to Peter. When he noticed me, he turned around and stated, “Sirius, you won the game!” As he said that, I silently muttered to myself,
“I did a lot more than win.”
About Time to Write
ISEB’s 2024 Time to Write competition, launched in celebration of the exam board’s 120th anniversary, was about celebrating the past and looking forward to the future. The innovative creative writing competition was open to all schools everywhere, and asked children of four different age groups to submit short stories written in response to a set theme.
A time machine is found hidden in a cave. Inside, there is a clock with two options: the first, to travel in time 120 years into the past, and the second, to travel in time 120 years into the future. Who finds it, and what happens next?
More than 2,000 children from schools all over the world entered the competition in its first year, with entries shortlisted collaboratively by a pool of judges using cuttingedge adaptive comparative judgement technology, in partnership with RM Compare. This resulted in a reliable, fair and accurate ranking of entries. The top ten stories in each category were reviewed by a panel of judges, including a children’s book author, a children’s book editor from Oxford University Press, a senior researcher from the University of Winchester, and heads of English from Eton College, St Swithun’s School, and St Catherine’s School, Bramley.
To find out more about ISEB’s Time to Write competition, visit write.iseb.co.uk.
ISEB would like to thank RM Compare; the judging panel: Ali Sparkes, Anna Camilleri, Ellen Spencer, Emma Drage, Naomi Anson and Sarah Strachan; sponsors Altec Lansing, AWS, Ingram Micro, Oxford University Press, Scanning Pens and TTS; all who took part in the shortlisting process; and all of the young writers who entered the Time to Write competition.
The four winning stories
A time machine is found hidden in a cave.
Inside, there is a clock with two options: the first, to travel in time 120 years into the past, and the second, to travel in time 120 years into the future. Who finds it, and what happens next?
When Sirius discovers an entrance of a cavern during a game of hide and seek, he suddenly finds himself with a choice he could never have imagined. Will he travel to the past or the future, what will he find there, and will he be able to get back?
The winning story in the category for writers in years 5 and 6 in the 2024 ISEB Time to Write international creative writing competition.
“A sophisticated introduction and beautifully built mystery that culminated in a brilliant ending.” The Time to Write judging panel.