I went through a lot.
Anyhow, Mom is so awesome.
My childhood drawings gave her a hint that she used to perfect a new theory; pictures I drew of powered suits gave her the idea to try creating a new form of fusion reactor; and to top it all off, she designed a new model of aircraft. She had exceptional talent in so many fields.
If you ask me, she’d soon cease to be the mother of quantum mechanics, and instead would be known as the mother of creation. But if I had to say what was most amazing, I would have to say that it was how, despite accomplishing so much, she was always here at home.
My old man, on the other hand, was never home. A long time ago, he’d said he was going to Africa or something, and hadn’t been home since. He should have tried following Mom’s example and staying home once in a while.
You know, when I tried mentioning to Mom that Dad isn’t home very often, is he? her smile looked so sad. One of these days, he was going to end up divorced.
That said, even Mom wasn’t home today. She’d said she had an important conference to attend or something, but I’d been half asleep and not really listening. Sorry, Mom.
I’d been left at home, totally bored. We were never able to guess when Dad might return home, so we had a family rule that there’d always be someone home.
It was a real bother, to be honest, but whenever Mom left the house, I absolutely had to be at home. It wasn’t like I had any friends anyway, so I didn’t care... I didn’t care.
I think I’m about to cry.
I’d already finished cleaning inside the house, so I figured, why not weed our garden once in a while? It was a big garden, so unless we tended to it now and again, it soon became overgrown.
A while back, I’d seen something online about a simple weed killer that could be made at home, but when I’d tried making and using it, it hadn’t just killed the weeds; it’d killed all of the garden grass and caused a lot of trouble. After that, I’d decided to always weed by hand. Mom had called Dad, and workers had arrived to replace all of the garden soil.
Come to think of it, that was the first time I’d seen my dad angry.
“I get it, you’re a genius, but I won’t tolerate you doing these things to our property!” he’d told me.
A genius, am I? I thought resentfully, remembering that. He said it sarcastically knowing full well that everything I ever create is a failure! That damn stupid muscle man. If he ever comes home while Mom isn’t around, I’m going to get my revenge by making him a meal with laxatives in it.
Well, anyhow, we had a big garden. Really big. It was as big as the garden of an old samurai house. Likewise, the house itself was pretty big, too.
Naturally, Mom made an insane amount of money. She had over 200 patents, and she was so highly regarded that research institutions begged her to let them put her on their member list, even if she was a member in name only. They came crying to her because having my mom listed as a part of their institution would triple their funding.
Incidentally, my dad’s income was a bit of a mystery.
Mom once told me something like, “Your dad doesn’t make a lot of money, but he helps people by working with the United Nations.”
I wish he’d show some of the same generosity toward his own son! Mom was really too good for that macho man. I didn’t even see why he was so macho. He’d said he was working for the United Nations, but couldn’t he just be a subcontractor who helped them carry their luggage? He’d said he was going to Africa, so maybe he’d be useful as a meat shield for their VIP personnel.
Well, I suppose I’ll start weeding the garden, I thought. I know! I’ll try using the industrial use powered suit that me and Mom made a while ago.
Recently, this sort of powered suit for manual work had come to be used in ordinary households. Naturally, this one was an all-powerful type handmade by my mom. This was a superb model that I could even wear while cooking or doing delicate work, so I assumed it had been made as a prototype that would allow all types of people to operate a powered suit.
It fits perfectly! All right, weeds, prepare yourselves!
Beep beep beep! Beep beep beep! I was enjoying weeding when a message appeared on my personal terminal.
Oh, it’s from Mom...
I answered by pressing the call button. “Hello?”
“K-Kou... What are you doing right now?”
For some reason, she asked the question sounding a little worried. I gave her a straightforward response and told her I was weeding the garden.
“R-right...” she said. “You don’t have to weed the garden. You should just go inside and watch the TV. One of those nature documentaries you like should be showing today.”
No way?! Nature in this world here was different from the previous world I’d lived in; animals that had been extinct were still living here. I loved those animals. There were also creatures I had never seen before, perhaps due to environmental differences. I loved documentaries featuring those creatures, and had watched them regularly ever since I was a child.
Mom told me I didn’t have to help out around the house, so I should go and watch that program. I really was proud to have such a kind mother! I thanked her and ended the call. I cheerfully shut off the powered suit and was about to enter the house when something in the corner of the garden caught my eye.
It was a rare bird. I tried to move closer to get a better look, but it flew away before I got the chance. I shrugged it off and headed back inside.