“They are trying to break free!” I cried, summoning Ouranos to me.
Fortunately he wasn’t far and together we managed to put enough pressure against the opening that they were unable to get out. I felt the pressure on the other side subside and we rested.
“I don’t know how much longer we can keep them down there,” I said. “We must find some answer to what to do with them.”
“We will,” Ouranos said.
“When?” I said, failing to hide my exasperation. “Look around you. My earth is beginning to suffer. The areas of growth fade the longer our children stay here. Your heavens need my earth and my earth needs them. Even your heavens are a little less bright. This is not good, Ouranos. Keeping them here is not the answer.”
“But it is so peaceful. Yes, it is not quite what it had been. Yes, it is more simple, but it is enough” he said, approaching me. “No mess. No disruption. It feels perfect.”
I stepped away.
“You are talking like Khaos again. You want things to go back to the way they were. You do not want things to change. You want things to be perfect. It cannot be so.”
“Why not? What is so wrong with the way Khaos sees things? True, he only cares about the void. He feels like we are all creating a mess in his void, his perfect void. But to me, you are perfect. I care about you. I do not want to watch the children destroy you. I do not want the children refusing to stop if I tell them they have taken too much. Kronos may still be the answer, but I do not know how to guide him or how he will find his purpose.
“Watching everything has exposed more of the problem. We cannot control them. They will not listen. They will do what they want, no matter what it does to you. I cannot bear that. I cannot let them destroy you. I promised to protect you.”
“You are protecting me — from Khaos,” I said firmly.
“But there are other dangers. It is not just Khaos,” he said. “Do you not see?”
I turned away. How many times would we have the same argument? How many times would he want me to see things the way he saw them? Why did I see things so differently?
Why didn’t I feel settled? Why did I resist Khaos so much?
Khaos.
The one who wanted to destroy me. The one who said my earth was ugly and had no purpose.
My purpose.
What was my purpose?
“Ouranos, this is my purpose,” I said, turning back to him. “I am meant to create and provide for other creators. I am meant to inspire others like Nyx and Erebos. I helped Pontos with his seas and helped him form his children. I helped create your heavens so that you could protect us. We have created more creators so that they can grow beyond us. I am meant to provide for all of these creations so that they can find their purpose. I will provide for them no matter what it takes from me.”
I paused.
“This is what I am meant to do. I create. I provide. I am the center. I am Gaia. I am Mother.”
He enveloped me and closed his eyes.
“I cannot watch them destroy you. I care for you. You are my purpose. Please, let me protect you.”
“It cannot last,” I said sadly. “I can feel that soon they will break free.”
“Until then,” he said, expanding and lifting me into his heavens. “We can enjoy the time we have together.”
If I Had Words 
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