If I Had Words

Chapter 14    Chapter 16

Gaia waited until enough cycles of day and night had passed before searching out Ouranos. He did not seem to feel the same need to seek her out, but she wanted to know what he had learned from his talk with Kronos. He had not yet given Theia any of her light back. She seemed to have moved on, but Gaia was still concerned. 

“Is Kronos going to give the light back?” Gaia asked. She’d found Ouranos resting on a large rock jutting out and overlooking the earth. 

“No,” he said. 

“What did he say?” 

“He says it is his now. He will not give it back.”

“Can you take it from him?”

“No. And even if I could, I would not.”

“Of course you would not.”

“What does that mean?” 

“You clearly favor Kronos.”

“He is the answer. He must discover his purpose.” 

“But this is wrong,” she said, frowning. “This does not feel right.” 

“Gaia, feelings do not make something right or wrong.”

“No, but feelings can help us continue to seek for understanding.” 

Ouranos faced her.

“You are concerned that Kronos has taken something and will not give it back. That is what creation is. It is what I told you before we created him. Creation takes. I took from you and everyone else to make my heavens. Yes, I have a purpose, but I still took what I needed. I did not give it back.  All of our creations take. You give elements to your children all the time.  Will they give them back? Can things be undone?”

Gaia looked down.

“Some things should be undone,” Ouranos said. “Some things are not meant to be created. You must see, Gaia. If you do not want Kronos, we need Khaos.”

“No!” Gaia looked up defiantly. “We will find a way. We will learn and understand so that we can know what to do, but we will never need Khaos.”

“I think your fear of Khaos is not good.” 

“I cannot help it. That feeling of having him rip apart my creations. I cannot.”

“But if it is good to undo some things,” Ouranos said. “We need to understand his purpose.” 

“No.”

“But the balance.”

“Kronos was supposed to be the balance. I have watched him. I have tried to let him explore. From what I have seen, I do not think he is the answer. He is not good.”  

Ouranos sighed. 

“I cannot deny there are things I do not understand about Kronos. It is true, he is more difficult to control. He pushes things more than the others do. He is the first of our children to show a will to resist. I wonder. Could we control any of them? They have their own ideas and desires. Would they accept it if we said no? They create and they take. They all move so quickly. It is hard to understand before things change again. Now that I have met them, I can see. There are too many changes, too many things, too many creators. If you feel Kronos is not the answer, if you feel something is wrong, then we need a way to understand before more things change.”

Gaia nodded. 

“How can we get things to pause so we can think?” she asked. 

“You are the most powerful force. Your heat, your energy. It is greater than anything in this cosmos.” 

“So?”

“We should put them in your earth. Keep them safe. It will limit what they can do. It will give us time to understand the problem and discuss a solution.”

“But they are all quite powerful. I do not think I could contain them by myself.”

“I will help you,” he said, looking at her.

She smiled and leaned against him. 

“Do you ever miss it?” he asked. 

“Miss what?” 

“When things were simpler? Your earth is beautiful now, but do you miss the simplicity of what you used to be?” 

“I do not miss the ugliness. I do not miss the feeling of being incomplete.” 

“Do you feel complete?”

“I do not know. I do not know what being complete feels like. You are the closest thing so far.” 

Ouranos enveloped her. 

“You are unlike anything. Your energy and your power is something I wish I could feel all the time.”

She sighed into him and they sat quietly for a moment. 

“Are you sure we should put the children into my earth? Is there another way?”

“Can you think of another? Can you think of a way to give us time to understand before more things get out of control? You do not want to use Khaos. My heavens will not contain them. They will not survive in the void nor in the abyss. Your earth is safe. Together we will contain them.”

“But how?” Gaia said, lifting her head. “How can we have enough power to keep the children inside my earth? There are so many now.”

“Yes, I told you there were too many and you did not listen.”

Gaia frowned and pulled away.

“There are many, but I will help you,” Ouranos said, drawing her back. “We will combine the powers of the heavens and the earth and we will contain them until we understand what we should do. Even if they are too many and you will not let Khaos help, I will help you.”

Gaia let him draw her back and she rested against him again. They stayed like that for a while. 

Then they felt a rumble. 

They looked at each other before setting off. It took them a short time to find their children all gathered, surrounding Kronos and Iapetos facing Krios and Koios. They felt another rumble. 

“What is going on?” Ouranos said, positioning himself in the middle. Gaia joined in beside him. 

“Kronos has taken something from a cyclops and won’t give it back,” Krios said. 

“How did you get it from one of the cyclopes?” Gaia asked.

“I was exploring and I found it,” Kronos said.

“Yes, he found it. It belongs to him now,” Iapetos said. 

“Finding it doesn’t make it his,” Koios said. “He can’t just take it. It must be returned.” 

“The cyclops didn’t even notice. They each make and make but they never use any of their creations,” Kronos said.

“What did you take?” Gaia asked.

Kronos held up a strange, curved object. 

“I call it a sickle,” Kronos said. 

“What is it for?” Ouranos asked. 

“I don’t know yet, but it’s mine.” 

“Did the cyclops ask for the object to be returned?” Gaia asked. 

“No,” Krios said. “The cyclops just made another one. But it should be returned. It doesn’t belong to Kronos. He’s always taking from others and not returning things. It must stop.” 

“Will you stop, Kronos?” Gaia asked. 

“No.” 

“You must stop,” Krios said.

“I will not stop,” Kronos said. 

“You can’t make him,” Iapetos said. 

“He must!” Krios insisted.

“I will not!” Kronos said. 

“He is refusing to see reason!” Koios said in frustration. 

As the children began arguing again, Ouranos looked at Gaia. She gave him a worried look, but nodded. 

It was time. 

“That is enough!!” Ouranos bellowed. “You will all go into the earth while your mother and I decide what to do with you.” 

“What? Go into the earth?” Okeanos said. “I don’t want to.” 

“You are going!” Ouranos said. 

“You can’t make us,” Kronos said, defiantly.

They all stood in silence for a moment, wondering if Kronos was right. Could their parents make them go into the earth if they didn’t want to? 

Gaia looked at them all. She had so many questions, but she needed to keep them safe until the answers were found. 

“Yes, we can,” Gaia said.

At her word, she began opening the earth, folding and pushing it out until it made an enormous hole. Some of the children started screaming and falling in. Others rose into the air, avoiding the opening until Ouranos’s heavens pushed them back down and into the hole Gaia had made. The opening got bigger and bigger and deeper and deeper as Ouranos pushed and pulled alongside Gaia. Gaia lifted the earth around a large pocket of air Ouranos had made. Then together they began to close the opening around the children. Gaia infused the top of it with heat, melting the rock as Ouranos quickly cooled into a solid mass. 

Cries echoed in the newly formed underground cavern. 

“Just for now,” Gaia said, panting. 

“Just for now,” Ouranos agreed. 

Chapter 14    Chapter 16