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There exists a rather bizarre legend, one that has seldom been told. No one knows how it started, or how it lasted. Some could say it's just another children's storybook on the shelf. But at the same time, this legend is true. People have seen what it entails out in the open sky. Festivals across the land have been held to commemorate the mysterious event around it, hoping people would find an answer within the stars.
Of course, the only person who would know the legend's secrets for sure is the one described in the legend itself. In this case, a young maiden inside the nucleus of a currently stationary comet. The legend states that this maiden left her home on Earth for the stars, eventually becoming a sort of mother to many young star children in the observatory she built in the comet's nucleus. Over time, however, her growing longing to return home started to receive the best of her, she wanted to see her own mother again but couldn't because she knew she had died long before, and thus she finally gave in and let the cosmos become her home, she could be the mother she wished for again, and since that moment, every century the comet flies into Earth's orbit to remember the maiden's long lost mother, showering the planet with strange bite-sized star-shaped objects that are actually edible candies.
It has been around thirteen years since the comet's last transit to Earth, as the maiden herself calculated in her bedroom. She had been there for almost a full day, actually. Alone, and almost completely silent. Maybe she was busy counting stars to fall asleep and lost track. Maybe she recently entered a hopefully brief phase of depression forced from her childhood memories. None of the star children were willing to enter and find out themselves. Though in reality, the latter suggestion wasn't far from the truth here. The maiden was dearly missing Earth for the people she ended up meeting on that fateful transit. It all started when a young hero was blown away into the cosmos and ultimately sent to the observatory, where the maiden helped him in his quest to find his captive special one, and in return she was allowed to stay on Earth for just a short while longer, to become reaccustomed with what it was like to live on the blue planet again.
She was rather uneasy at first, her legs shaking trying to withstand Earth's strong gravitational pull and her delicate hands shivering from the texture of genuine dirt and soil, it felt too surreal to have this chance to be here again. But eventually, the maiden managed to feel her body at ease, to which from there she felt just like the little girl she used to be, she couldn't try even at her hardest to resist jumping through the broad grasslands and town pathways, the many species she encountered and faces she met felt so welcoming and delighted to see such a majestic being as herself. Throughout town, the maiden would accompany its biggest names in various recreation events, mostly sport, some parties, others just to relax and enjoy herself. This bliss of being home, it may not have lasted long, but as long as she had a chance, the maiden could live in happiness for the next century.
On her final night on Earth before leaving for the stars again, she managed to find her childhood home, long deprecated and reclaimed by nature, accompanied only by a small hill, with a flower patch and a large tree and a tipped over telescope underneath, her father's telescope, the same one she used to play with all the time as a child. The maiden could only shed a tear at the sight, almost mouthing a single word, "Mother..." As she approached the flower patch, she kneeled down and stared into the dirt, the wind blowing against her as if she could feel her soul resting underneath. She placed her palms together and softly spoke a prayer to the open fields, promising that all her friends could live long enough to see her again, that she won't have to lose anyone anymore, not after all the positive impact she had been blessed with. The next morning she was nowhere to be found in town, save for a small note indicating her departure and her heartwarming thanks for all the memories she had made, with the same promise that she would see everyone again.
Leading back to now, that prayer and that note...did she really mean it? Did it even work as promised? Was she too late and has she already lost her friends for good? Surely she couldn't believe such a fate. It just couldn't be. The maiden's mind was racing, the anxiety creeping onto her more and more, she had a calm voice, yet she wanted to scream. She didn't want to feel the same dread as before, not one bit. Though as her mind was about to reach a limit, an almost chime-like sound pierced her ears, making her freeze in place with her eyes wide. The chime-like sound occurred again. And again. Sounds that could only come from the stars, sounds that only the maiden can interpret. She stood up and opened the curtains to her one bedroom window, only to what could've been the most beautiful sight she had seen in a while. Stars flashing left and right, their sounds creating a symphony of praise and welcoming. The maiden almost smiled, for she saw it as something special: The residents of Earth wanted her back as much as she wanted them back. They enjoyed the songs after all, they enjoyed the games, the food, the star children, everything that she was giving to the blue planet, leading to curiosity as to what more could the maiden have for them...but most importantly, they loved her from the bottom of their hearts. Even from millions of lightyears away, the thing they enjoyed most about her was just the chance to be with her, and make her feel home.
The maiden sighed, another tear welling up and trickling down a warm pink cheek. There was only one answer. She was going to head back. Forget about the legend for a moment, she wanted to feel the magic of Earth again. And so, with a flick of her wand, she coated herself in her traditional teal dress and slowly stepped outside of her bedroom, feeling refreshed in the cold isolated air of the open observatory and the space that surrounded it. One of the star children, rather apricot in color, asks in an almost squeaky voice, "Mama? What's wrong? Are you feeling sad?" The maiden simply said back in her soothing voice, "Not anymore. I know what is calling me now...Now we are heading home." And with her wand high in the air, she casts a beam of light to the top of the observatory, engulfing it and turning it back into the spinning comet once again, this time headed for a new yet familiar destination: Earth. Also known as...
Home.