Child's Play [Text] [Reboot]

>Why is time suddenly speeding up?
>Whatever happen to Dad? (If you ever had a Dad.)
>How come you don’t see your mom, a lot, anymore?

I think over my first question, going for the obvious low-hanging fruit and hoping that Mother can give me a straight answer. “Why does time keep speeding up? Like when I make stuff lately, I look up and it’s been years all of a sudden! How can I make it stop?”

“Why would you make it stop? Do you want to experience every second of the next few billion years?”

My mind boggles at the idea of living a million - no, a billion! - years, but I press on. “Not really, I guess… Even a million years seems like a long time! But that’s never happened to me before.”


“Silly child, you’ve already lived for a million years. You’ve just slept through most of it, but now your eyes are open.” I’m not sure I understand her metaphor (eyes?), but she continues. “When you create, you can lose touch with the passage of time. It’s a mercy for now, but not always desirable when things get more complicated. But you’ll learn to stop time before going into the trance eventually.”

I’m still not fully satisfied, but I leave it alone for now. My second question is a bit stranger. “Do… do Unsa and I have any other parents out there? Are there others like you?”

“I was the only one who created you,” she says, putting to an uneasy rest the question I’ve been asking myself for a long time now. “But… I suppose I can say you have a grandparent. My own parent created this universe a long time ago.”


“Where are they now?” I ask.


“Is that your third question?”

“I guess not,” I admit. “I wanted to ask why you never come see me anymore.”

“For the same reason I never see my own parent. You don’t need me anymore, Ambot. What you need is room to live your own life, make your own mistakes. But remember, I’ll always be with you, closer than you realize even when you don’t think I’m here. Many of my lesser children believe this, and if they can do it then I expect at least as much of you.”

“Wait!” I call out as I see the pillar of fire beginning to waver. “Are you coming back? I’m not ready for you to leave!”

“If you ever need me, I’ll be there.” Her voice fades out as the fire dissipates entirely, and I feel the careful withdrawing of her presence. It’s as if the pillar of fire were only a small limb she had extended into my domain, and as soon as it’s gone the rest of her goes with it.

I throw myself up into the air, trying to follow, but it’s as if an invisible barrier comes up when I hit the stratosphere. I collide with it so hard that I am thrown backwards, hurtling down through the clouds until I hit the ground and pass down through it. I’m several layers deep into the planet’s crust before I extract myself and rise up again. Since I have no physical body, the only thing bruised is my ego, but I’m seething at the cruelty of what she has just done to me. Maybe Unsa is right, and Mother is more like him. Maybe now that I’m older, I’m just seeing a whole new side of her that I never noticed before.

What should I do now?

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