Earth-chan and Friends

Chapter 23: Earth-chan's Mother

Earth-chan and Moon-kun got worried – Principal Cosmos-sama rarely showed exaggerated emotions, so his frown clearly meant he was angry, and that meant trouble. Phoebe too, realised she had said too much, and bowed right away, to resolve the situation:

"I... I am terribly sorry if I have offended your feelings! I just... Grandpa Neil said Earth-chan didn't have a mother, and since mine is long gone too, I thought... I was just curious, I'm sorry!"

She covered her face with her hands and began crying, unable to hold back her sorrow. Hearing such a confession from her, all the three planetary beings grew astounded. Earth-chan and Moon-kun felt pity for the tiny human.

"Aww..." Earth-chan caressed Phoebe with her little finger, "Dear, I'm so sorry..."

"That makes all the three of us alike." Moon bitterly smiled. "Do not worry. We understand how you may feel."

"Her name is Chaos."

"Huh?"

All the three children glanced up at the principal. His eyes expressed deep sadness and compassion.

"Earth's mother's name is Chaos."

"Chaos?!"

Phoebe was shocked – Chaos was another name for the universe! Humans had two beliefs – that the primal universe was either orderly (Cosmos) or chaotic (Chaos). But now these planetary beings said that both of those universes existed?!

"No way..." Moon was no less astounded. "You don't mean the legendary Chaos-sama, whom all the Black Holes are believed to be serving, even nowadays?!"

"Yes, exactly her."

"Earth-chan, you knew about that?"

"Yes, I knew. But papa didn't want me to talk about her."

"Why?" Moon turned back to the principal.

"It isn't a matter to be publicly discussed – these are our personal affairs. However," Cosmos beamed at Phoebe, "I can tell you, human, since Earth considers all of you humans a family."

"Ah, thank you!"

"So, I guess I'm only a nuisance, huh?"

Moon-kun sulked. Cosmos laughed, as well as Earth and Phoebe.

"Since I've disclosed this much information about my wife while you were present, Moon-san, it means I've already accepted to tell it to you too."

"Oh... Thanks!" Moon grinned and scratched his head.

The children sat on chairs before the principal's table. He began:

"Billions and trillions of years ago, there was only the chaotic void in the world. From that chaotic void, were born some primal planetary elements which later formed into the first planetary people and the two of us: the core of that chaotic void – Chaos-chan, and the farthest edge of the void – me, Cosmos.

"These primal people built the Planetarium College from the chaotic elements that were found in the void. Beyond this College, the void remained. You can see that blackness even now, out of our windows." he pointed them beyond the window where the absolute blackness indeed reigned. "I, Cosmos, was a boy who loved order, so I always tried to do the best for the Planetarium College – our ultimate creation. My friends – planetary matters (who were to later become the first Nebulae) – helped me in this work. Chaos, on the other hand, as the daughter of the core of the dark matter, was a chaotic maiden who enjoyed destroying things, but felt sad at the same time, while doing so.

"Chaos and I, as people of opposite characters, hated each other to our cores. I longed to banish her from the Planetarium College back into the void she was born from, but Chaos was not weak. She resided outside our college, yet still managed to cause havoc. She demolished parts of our building which we struggled to rebuild again and again.

"I longed to destroy Chaos with my own two hands, so annoying she was to me. She too had the same wish – to destroy me. She knew I was the main leader of all the other planetary people residing in the Planetarium College. She had realised that destroying the headman would cause the Planetarium College to collapse, and that would lead to complete chaos which she loved so much. She knew that the college had been built mainly by me, for I was one of the primary beings and the strongest one. So, she always aimed at me, and I – at her."

The children listened to this whole tale of how Earth-chan's parents hated each other in their youth. It seemed so bizarre to them – the people hateful of each other had ultimately ended up together!

"So... how did you end up together, Cosmos-sama?" Moon wondered the most. He found it too hard to believe someone could end up with a person they once hated.

"Chaos-chan was chaotic not only from the outside but from the inside as well – she could not understand her feelings. They changed quite often. So, once, when we met again to battle, and she had resolved to destroy me this time, she was indeed close to doing it, but then, she felt she had turned sad, seeing me collapse..." Cosmos' smile became bitterer and softer as he remembered those moments of the past, "So, she knelt next to me, and wept, wetting my chest with her tears. She confessed that she had never hated me truly. She said she had always loved and admired me for being such a capable and powerful leader and creator, and felt hateful towards her own self for loving a man like me who never accorded to her standards. She felt love and hate inside her heart all at the same time, and it made her troubled and sorrowful. She suffered from the bitter anguish gathered in her heart.

"Seeing her troubles, it was, of course, I who made the decisive move, for I knew she'd never make up her mind if I left it to her. To be honest, even though she was so chaotic and irritating, those were the features that I liked the most about her, for they made her who she was. I hated when she bugged me, but other than that, I always liked her." he chuckled, his heart filling up with warmth as he remembered his beloved. "I offered her my love in return. But we couldn't be together – we'd tear each other apart the next moment, we both knew it well. Thus, we decided to part our ways. She promised she'd never bug me again. Black Holes – the successful graduates from our college – became the first ones to connect the Planetarium College with the outside world. Through them, Chaos-chan and I are able to contact each other. Layla-sama, one of Chaos' best friends, whom I've accepted in this college as the headwoman of the Black Holes, brought Earth-chan here once she was born. Chaos had named her Gaia – a neat name, in my honour. But I named her Earth on my part – a chaotic name, in Chaos-chan's honour. Earth turned out to be both chaotic (due to those parasites in her hair) and orderly (one of the most refined students in our college), taking after both of us. Chaos knew I'd be fitter for taking care of a child, so she left her in my care. That's all there is to it."

The children were left puzzled – now they had even more questions than before!

"So, that blackness of Black Holes is the result of their interacting with Chaos?" Phoebe wondered.

After all, humans could see Black Holes as circles sucking everything in their blackened cores, and nobody knew what was beyond that black core. Here, Phoebe found out Black Holes were the administrative unit responsible for expelling students, so, perhaps, the other side of those black circles indeed led to chaos? It was so complicated!

"So, you say you love each other yet hate each other? That's so... weird..." Moon raised an eyebrow.

"It is not needed for you to understand." Cosmos-sama frowned.

The children soon left the principal's office.

"I still think Cosmos-sama's story is really bizarre..." Phoebe said.

"You don't say..." Moon shrugged.

"I guess love comes in all shapes?" Earth-chan chuckled.

Mama, so you indeed live, there somewhere...

She gazed out the windows, through the infinite blackness – through the chaos.