Chapter 5 Can I Forgive?
The lights cleared around Rosalina. The sight of the Comet Observatory met her eyes, a beautiful sight indeed. It brought comfort to her, and it helped her pounding heart to relax the tiniest bit. Of course, it didn't slow down completely; after the display that had occurred on the Mushroom World, it would take a lot of time in order to help her relax completely.
Perhaps she should go to the Gusty Garden Galaxy. That was a common place for her to go whenever her nerves were shot. She needed the cool, flowery breeze to overtake her soul right about now.
But then again, she wasn't in the mood to travel. The last trip she took had already caused her enough distress to last a lifetime. She needed a new way to relax. Thankfully, she had just the thing.
Rosalina took out her cigarette holder, and put a cigarette with a star-shaped tip in it. She lit the cigarette and took a puff. The scent of the smoke calmed her nerves a great deal; it was an acquired taste to be sure, but it was one that Rose herself loved. She took another puff and sat down in the grass.
As soon as her heartbeat had gotten back to normal, she knew that she had a lot of thinking to do. She had to find a solution to this problem; end this feud between the Princesses and the Koopas. Too much animosity and hatred brewing within one's soul was not a good thing. It could lead someone down a dark path; a path of despair. She didn't want that for anyone, least of all people whom she considered to be her friends.
The only problem was that she had absolutely no idea how she was supposed to go about solving this problem. The question that Peach had asked her earlier echoed across the corners of her mind. Would she forgive Bowser if he had done the same thing to her? Would she forgive anyone if they had killed her parents?
The first thing that popped into Rosalina's mind upon thinking about that question was the loss of her own mother. Such a tragedy had left scars, but it hadn't been caused by anyone in particular. Rosalina's mother had just been hit with a terminal illness, and therefore, was a victim of circumstance. There was nothing anyone could have done to save her, and there was also no one who was at fault. Thus, there was no one to be forgiven.
Rosalina took another puff. But what if there had been? What would she do? If her mother had been killed, would she have forgiven the person who had done it?
That question was left hanging in the air for a while, due to the fact that Rose didn't know how to answer it. It left her at a loss for words, or thoughts in this case. She couldn't even begin to fathom an answer. Mostly because it hadn't actually happened in that way, she supposed.
But what if it did?
After some time dedicated to answering that question, Rosalina's heart sank. She had to do a lot of examining of her own heart and soul in order to come across this answer, but she realized that she wouldn't be able to forgive someone if they did something like this. She supposed some people could, but she wasn't perfect. If someone had killed her mother, then there would be no way in the universe that she would be able to forgive them. She just...couldn't.
So how was it that she could say that she expected the Princesses to do that exact thing?
Rosalina shed a tear as she took another puff. The tears flowed down her face like the twinkles of ash fell from the cigarette. She was a hypocrite, that's what she was. She had expected there to be an easy way to answer this question that the scenario presented. She had gone in thinking that the Princeses should be able to let this go. But they couldn't. They were only human, just like she was. They would probably have to hold onto that animosity for years to come, and there was nothing she could do about it in good conscience.
"Rose?"
Rosalina looked behind her. Polari's eyes met hers, and he looked beyond concerned. He looked like he wanted to wrap the Lady of the Shooting Stars in a hug.
"Are you alright?"
Rosalina dried her eyes. "I'm fine, Polari. Just dealing with some things."
"Was your visit to the Mushroom World stressful? Is that why you're back early?"
Rosalina chuckled. "There's no hiding anything from your sharp mind. Yes, it was."
"I'm sorry about that," Polari said. "Really, I am." There was a moment of silence between the two before Polari spoke up again. The way his eyes lit up indicated to Rose that he was smiling. "Well, I have something that will cheer you up. Or rather, someone."
Rosalina perked up. "Oh?"
"Yep!" Polari said with a nod of his pointed head. "Solar has come by to visit!"
This news caused Rosalina to gasp out loud. Solar! Her son? He was here, he was actually here?
Rosalina smiled and bounced up. "That's amazing Polari!" She hugged the black luma. "Oh, I'm so excited!"
Polari laughed. "I had a feeling you would be." He released himself from the embrace. "He's in the garden dome. He's been waiting for you for a while now."
"Well, I shall keep him waiting no longer!" Rosalina put her cigarette holder away and started levitating. "Thank you once again, Polari!"
With that, he made her way to the garden dome. Her heartbeat accelerated again, but this time, it was due to positive emotion as opposed to negative. She hadn't seen Solar in so long.
Although Rosalina considered Solar to be her son, the truth was that they weren't biologically related. In fact, Solar wasn't biologically related to anyone. He had been born from the collision of four different types of prankster comets, and Rosalina had found him as a baby in the dust heap, about 1000 years ago in a whole other universe. She had taken him in and raised him as her own, despite the risk involved. Because of his cosmic origins, Solar had ended up developing super powers. After a long and hard time struggling with the powers and his own base desires, he had sworn to protect the universe with them. So, he was very rarely if ever at the Comet Observatory anymore.
But now he was here! He was here, and he was going to see his mother! Rosalina couldn't wait! She just couldn't!
Once she got to the Garden Dome, Rosalina expressed her excitement by letting out a breath. She entered the dome and smiled when she saw him, sitting on a bench.
"Solar!"
Solar smiled and stood up. His sparkly white skin reminded her of moonlight, and his golden hair, sunlight. He wore a blue jacket and red pants, both reminiscent of modern male fashion. His red eyes twinkled, the icy blue pupils reflected Rosalina's own smile.
"Mother! It's so nice to see you!"
Rosalina went over to him and gave him a hug. Despite effectively being made of comet dust, he still felt solid in her arms, and he embraced her with a grip that was just as strong.
"I'm so happy to see you!" she exclaimed.
"And I you!" Solar let her go. He then sniffed the air. "Have you been smoking again?"
"Well, you know me. I just can't let the habit go."
Solar laughed. "Yeah. You little addict you."
Rosalina shook her head and rolled her eyes, all while keeping a smile on her face. "Har har har."
Solar laughed before noticing the redness of her eyes. "Have...Mom, have you been crying?"
Rosalina sighed. "I...yeah."
"Why? What's wrong?"
Rosalina sighed. Should she tell him? She might as well.
"It's a long story."