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Cast PP Krit as Unnamed, and Billkin as Knowledge, and enjoy this tale.
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Once upon a tale, Mother Cosmos gave birth to Humans and assigned two elements to run the universe.
Time was assigned first for she was the most essential element in any universe. In the beginning, Humans had all the Time in the world. They had days and nights all for themselves. They had months and years starring at the big blue sky. They had centuries looking outside their windows not knowing a thing about the surrounding world. And that did not take them anywhere.
Then, Mother Cosmos assigned the second element in hopes for balance, and that was when she brought Knowledge into the universe to help Humans make use of their time better. With Knowledge, Humans were introduced to many new excitements and horizons. They spend their time digging into trillion pages of information and wandering off to new adventures, all with the purpose to expand their comprehension. From above, Cosmos can see how they are willing to learn many, many things, anything in fact, just to secure themselves as intelligent. And for years, it is an undeniable that time has been less wasted.
Until one day, Mother Cosmos realizes how exhausted Humans have become. Their world is full of pains and tears from fights and loss. Once again, the scale tips off its balance, to the point where Cosmos wonders if it has ever had one.
The moment Mother Cosmos realizes these syndromes, a knock on her door shifts her total attention.
“Come in!” replies Cosmos as gentle as she can, trying to hide her worries. She doesn’t want any of her children to know of her troubles. As a Mother, she believes it’s her duty to solve all the problems on her own.
The heavy wooden entry briefly creaks as the boy in the deep blue suit steps in. His unusually timid composure immediately tells her something is off. This child of hers is always full of confidence, so much that sometimes it applies arrogance.
“Knowledge, my dear. What is it that’s troubling you?” asks Cosmos, as gentle as she can.
“Mother, I haven’t felt well lately.” says the boy in the wrinkled blue suit.
“And why is that, my child?” Cosmos replies with a comforting tone of voice as if she has been expecting this visit. Out there in her universal garden, thousands of stars are twinkling. Most of them are as ancient as the Time, while the rest are as juvenile as Humans.
“There is a feeling that I cannot yet name, but it brings a void to my heart.” confesses Knowledge with a slight frown on his face. He has noticed the growth of this void for quite a while but only comes to Mother now as it’s becoming too unbearable for his self-centric personality. “I have always found a way out, but this time, it feels like I am at my worst.”
Mother Cosmos puts down her cup of tea and observes her child. The void he feels upon his chest has indeed exhausted him, draining his energy and drifting him away from the appearance she initially created for him. The perfectly ironed suit she has given him is now not only as crumbled as a discarded sketch, but also fading into the color of burnt ashes.
So she spent the next days to find a cure for Knowledge and this constantly gives her a hint of connection to the condition of Humans. She seeks hard in the brown pages of books in her library, through different universes and timeline. And finally, Cosmos calls for her ill child when she recalls an element she has experimented at the same time with him but never presented to the world as she wasn’t sure of its significance. But she did invent this element with a special gift: the gift of healing everything and everyone.
Yet, a crucial conversation is awaiting for her to unfold.
——
At sun rise, when Cosmos makes her way into the office, nesting herself on her favorite chair and getting ready to raise an important question, Knowledge was already roaming around Mother’s office, impatiently waiting for her cure for his sickness.
“My child, I may have found a cure, but I must warn you first. With this cure, Humans might want you less, so I need to know if you agree to try?”
Knowledge ceases his breath as soon as mother finishes her words. For as long as he can remember, Knowledge has always enjoyed his place in the Human’s world for he usually is the foremost achievement of their lives. For hundred of years, they have talked about him and seek for him whenever they have the chance. They worship him in all religions, and he comes across in many forms. Sometimes as respected as a golden statue, sometimes as simple as a good read. Because of this, to be unwanted is not a good news to him. But as the void in his heart keeps growing no matter how many treatments he’s tried, so he decides to give it a chance, at last.
As soon as Knowledge nods his head in agreement, Cosmos calls for the element waiting in the other room.
“This is Unnamed, who I hope will help you feel better, even just a little bit.”
Knowledge turns around to meet Unnamed, a boy dressed in red, with his fair skin and slim figure, eyes as twinkling as Mother’s garden. Under his eyes are traits of stars that Knowledge wonders, for a quick second, if they together can make the 13th horoscope. In all the pages he has written and defined, such charm has never been known off, not even to the knowledgable self of Knowledge.
Unnamed waves his rosy palms gently at the boy in faded blue, with a smile as tender as sun set, but latter freezes and almost forgets how to respond. Only when Cosmos calls for his name that he can regain consciousness from the view he’s taking in. A chaotic mix of emotions is growing inside him right now. It’s a feeling of fondness being held back by the fear of being insignificant, as if sweet and sour has collided somewhere in his own universe.
“Knowledge dear, you can take today off and let him inspect your condition. As Humans won’t be able to survive too long without any of the element, you two need to be back here by sun the time the Sun goes to sleep so I can make my decision.”
——
As soon as Mother Cosmos closes her door behind their back, Knowledge turns over to Unnamed and examines the boy from head to toe, before parting ways in the latter’s surprise.
“But didn’t Mother say I have to come with you?” questions out loud the boy in the red jacket. His eyes, though now infused with more confusion, are still twinkling when looking at Knowledge.
“You don’t have to. I agreed to Mother so that she won’t be too worried. But honestly I’m not sure if you can do anything for me, especially with those… slender fingers.” replies Knowledge as he walks away, trying to deny the fact that he got carried away by Unnamed’s presence earlier. His heart, which has been carrying a silent hollow for weeks, is now reacting totally opposite. It is quivering as if it has a mind of its own, but again, Knowledge doesn’t know how to call this reaction yet, so he tries his best to shake it off, first by keeping his distance with Unnamed.
But Unnamed does not give up that easily. Instead of verbally objecting the words, he runs after Knowledge and clings onto his shoulder, causing him to startle a bit. Knowledge is trying his best to shoo the boy away, but the more he does, the louder his heart vibrates inside his chest. And so he grabs Unnamed’s shoulders, settles him in front of his face, and makes his final attempt.
“Look, what if I take you to Time first, and then the Humans world? I mean you only have today in this world, don’t you want to explore this universe?”
“Okay.” agrees right away Unnamed, but then continues firmly after a short pause “You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to. But you have to spend time with me at those places. At the end of the day, Mother will ask how it goes, and I do not want to lie to her.”
“… Fine. Deal.”
With reluctance, Knowledge nods his head. He wanted to say no, but when Unnamed looked at him with a determination he couldn’t refuse. And most of all, he doesn’t want to disappoint Mother.
——
Time was struggling with the baking recipe from Knowledge when Happiness and Unnamed arrive at her door. Her lush green dress is stained with all the powder lying here and there. She is the most senior element of them all, for her significant role in the Humans world. When she was born, Humans were not yet an idea. Time, in many forms, has always been Mother’s most mysterious elements.
Even Knowledge hasn’t been able to unfold all of her.
“Who do we have here?” asks Time when she notices the stranger boy standing besides Knowledge, waving gently at her. Time doesn’t recall meeting him ever in her extensive life.
“Time, this is Unnamed. Mother sends him…” Knowledge baffles halfway of his induction for the new boy because he just remembers he’s been secretive with his heart hollow. “Mother sends him here to-“
“To see how everyone is doing. She just wants to make sure you all are well.”
Unnamed finishes the sentence and presents himself to Time and saves Knowledge from the confusion he is trying to hide. In a second, Unnamed seems to see through his mind, even with the confusion he is trying to conceal.
Unnamed quickly makes his way into Time’s living room and then to her kitchen, where the macaroons are falling apart all over the place, unable to recognize.
As mysterious as Time is, she’s also exceptionally impatient. Sometimes she crawls, sometimes she walks, sometimes, she even flies. For as long as one can remember, Time never stands still, even for a second. But baking requires too many pauses, here and there, so it hasn’t done her a favor.
“I’m sooo giving up on baking.” mourns Time with the longest face Knowledge has ever seen. He knows she made good fermented food, but then this powdery mess is a first time ever.
“They taste good!” exclaims Unnamed while nibbling on the colorful crumbs, astounding Time herself and Happiness who’s standing nearby. “The color is enchanting too. Would you mind me joining you in the new batch?”
Time stops, for the first time ever, to look at the boy with those twinkling eyes. In her endless lifetime, nobody has offered Time help. Everyone expects her to do her job, to guide Spring back after Winter, to organize Humans days, to ripe the most perfect fruits. Yet, nobody has bothered to ask if Time needs a hand. So without a verbal answer, Time hands Unnamed the baking book she borrowed from Knowledge, and together they spend the morning checking the recipe, scaling the ingredients and choosing colors.
Knowledge was perching by Time’s sofa while the other two are busy cracking eggs and jokes. He tries to keep the straightest face in his ability. Still, he caught himself comforted in the warming and joyful aura of Unnamed, as if the void upon his chest is being filled. He can’t help but notice that even Time, was tamed. Every word of support from Unnamed seems to make Time less hasty and more relaxed. Knowledge doesn’t know the exact word, but when his mind has wandered off to a vision of himself baking next to Unnamed, the boy in red looks his way with a look hinting if Knowledge is feeling fine. When he realizes there is someone showing him concerns, his eyes try to flee.
—
Knowledge and Unnamed wave Time goodbye as they depart from her house. While taking steady steps beside each other towards another path, they remain silent.
Knowledge feels his heart quivering even more intense whenever his hands accidentally brush against the other’s. His lips have parted several times, yet no word can seem to escape his dry throat. At this point, Knowledge doesn’t like the fact that he is so smart, so clever, so… knowledgable, because in his own mind, all the “what ifs” cannot stop building up. He cannot stop asking himself, what if, with everything he told Unnamed this morning, he would think of him as a bad soul? What if, his words now, would appear as excuses? And what if, at the end of the day, Unnamed would tell Mother that he is incurable and he wants nothing but to be away from Knowledge?
The second element keeps tangling in his endless thoughts when they finally both standing in front of another door. Unlike the warmth in Time’s kitchen, this entrance reeks of iciness. The cold radiating from whatever behind it is pulling them both in.
“What is it here?” asks Unnamed, with his big, surprised eyes looking for an answer from his friend, who looks like he has just come back from the land of confusion.
As the door stares back at them in silent, Knowledge turns the knob, and the freezing air almost strikes them off their feet. It is the Humans world, bathing in nothing but frosty, wintry atmosphere. The strange thing is, all the Humans walking around in their gray suits seems to not notice or mind this bitter coldness, at all. They cannot see the elements observing them as for Human, they are invisible and amorphous, but whenever a Human passes their ways, the elements cannot feel anything but the incredible loneliness. Contradictory to their perfectly ironed outfits and stable miens, Unnamed can see the crumbles of their souls fleeing their own physical body.
“Have they always been like this?” asks again Unnamed, this time with his eyes fixed on the crowd of silent Humans standing on the other side of the road, waiting for the traffic light with their attention being sucked into the tiny screens on their hands.
“When I first arrived, they were clueless, but definitely not as… pathetic as this.” responds Knowledge with a cheerless voice. For a second, a doubtful reflection crosses his mind. “I feel like, the more I stay in their world, the sicker they get-”
“It’s not your fault.” ascertains Unnamed with rays of sincerity beaming in his eyes and a smile of affirmation on his lips. From him, a special warmth of fondness is embracing the ambience around.
And together, they roam the streets of Human’s world for another while. They peek through the silent glass walls of the skyscrapers, the stained and mossed windows on those bricked apartments, and even the forgotten corners of that land to make an effort to define those symptoms, but it was not until Unnamed accidentally brushes his fingers upon the chest of a quiet Human standing by, something unexpected befalls.
On their grey suit, blooms traces of colors as twinkling as Cosmos’s garden. First there was red, followed by yellow, and then even green. Their inner soul, which was sobbing just a moment before, is now calm and composed. Their tears are now infused with joy, and some turn into smiles and laughters.
“Can you do that again?” suggests Knowledge when he notices the incident.
Unnamed nervously nods before reaching his hands out to the chest of another Human passing by to ensure it was not just luck, and the same magic comes back, this time with even more colors overflowing on the ashy outfit. The Humans that were rushing through the streets in isolated silence now start conversing, shaking hands and even embracing each others.
For the first time since they met, Knowledge looks at Unnamed with all the courage and adore that he has, and whispers.
“Thank you.”
“Why?” wonders Unnamed, still stunned with all the happenings in front of his eyes and the words of appreciation from his friend.
“For helping them” smiles Knowledge, and slowly confesses something he has been wanting to express. “And me. I have always known a lot of things, everything, until I met you and your abilities to share and to tolerate, it just feels good to know I still have the chance to learn and experience.”
As soon as Knowledge finishes his words, Unnamed lays his palms upon the chest of his friend, letting all the colors flow through his shirt. Knowledge gasps as he just realizes the void inside him has vanished into the astrological sky above, and all he can feel at that moment, is full. He wants to grab Unnamed’s hands back, and nests them inside his own palms, and to apologize for his rude words that morning, but then, Mother’s voice alerts all over the space.
The Sun is setting, and it is time for them to come back.
—
“Mother, please let him stay-” urges Knowledge as soon as he sets foot into her office. He cannot wait to narrates everything he has experienced today, how he is cured, and how much it would mean for him and Human, and probably also Time, if she allows Unnamed to become an official element in her universe. Because if she doesn’t, Knowledge is not sure what he would do. As knowledgable as he is, he cannot predict Cosmos’ arrangement. “It is fine if Humans want me less. I think they need him.”
And indeed, Cosmos already has her plan.
“Unnamed, how do you feel about today?” asks Mother, as she waits for the answer from her child.
“It was really fun. Time was lovely and Knowledge showed me a lot.” rejoins Unnamed as he is trying his best to keep the calmness on his face, despite the loud drum beating inside his chest. “Mother, if you decide to put me back into sleep mode, I am gladly accepting your decision. But, just for a few more days, can I stay and help Humans get better? There are still so many of them waiting.”
Cosmos sits back in her chair and silently observes the two boys who were just strangers this morning, but now, standing hands in hands in front of her. She has never seen such an insisting look inside Knowledge’s eyes before, left alone, him giving up his place for someone else. Yet, Cosmos cannot deny the fact that since their trip to the Humans’ world, those beings have recovered from their own fights, and paleness. And so she makes one last question to ensure her decision will somehow bring balance back to the universe.
“But it is not just a day. It might take years, decades or even centuries to complete your task here. Are you ready to accept all the difficulties and responsibilities waiting for you ahead?”
“Yes Mother, please allow me to help you, and anyone in need.” nods Unnamed with all the honesty he has. “As long as you give me a name, too.”
It takes Cosmos a short while to find that word she has put down some time back when she was creating Unnamed, and when it appears on a humble corner of her notebook, she smiles at them both, as this time, she is sure it is the one for him.
“You are Love.”
--
From that day onwards, the universe grows into a new age. With Love, Time is patient. With Love, Knowledge has more: wisdom, kindness and courage. Together, they give Humans another important element: Happiness.