Chapter III:     The Coming of the Ages (Part 3)

VI --- IV --- MMXX

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INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO READ: You can use a mirror to read this sub-chapter. Bloody Mary will not appear don't worry.

---Wicked Writch

Tah-dah!

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          Red... White... Orange... Pink... Purple... Yellow...

          In this cycle of the Celtic calendar, flowers' clashing colors of corrosive clover-groundcover concurrently coated the Kildare cordillera. Excited solitary bees jumped from one double-flower to one two-flower to 'polymate.' Multi-colored flower-flowers cladded from the base of the stone roof-wall of the megalithic monastery and towered up to the giant vanes that spin with the summer wind. Without the palette of hues, it would have been a monochromatic Medieval-is-Modern day produced by the shade, tint and tone of spot daylight that fell from the cloudy sky.

          In one of the ladies' chamber, Brigidarah simultaneously changed her sleeping position to find her comfort stop. Trying to sleep any longer would only drain her recharged body battery. She opened her eyes and faced the ceiling with fixed crucifix.

          "Something's not right," Brigidarah sighed.

          "You're right!"

          Brigidarah turned to the bed on her left where the voice came from. She was petrified when she saw the unknown creature glaring at her. The unknown creature closed its eyes to sleep again.

          "H-how could animals talk? Am I dreaming?" Brigidarah touched her own face.

          "This is your living nightmare!" Another creature rotated its neck to face Brigidarah with closed eyes.

          "Goodness, you're already awake, Sister Saoirse," Brigidarah calmed down.

          "Not..." Saoirse said without opening her mouth.

          "If not, how could you speak while asleep?" Brigidarah cracked.

          "Obviously, just half awake," Saoirse bounced up from her bed to rise and to stretch.

          The unknown creature's sleep was disturbed. It curled its body and closed its eyes back to sleep.

          "All this time, I've been waiting for the Attitude Problem Singdrome alarm ringtone to ring. This explains everything..." Saoirse climbed above Dervla who was covered in wool blanket. "Wake up, Sister Dervla! It's time to rise and shine!"

          "Just rise because there was no sunshine this summer morning," Brigidarah said while tangling the dusty curtain to introduce the natural daylight to Dervla's face.

          "Why? We don't have classes anymore, do we?" Dervla slightly opened her eyes and drowsed, "we are already graduating..."

          "Alright then," Saoirse said determinedly, "this is the time to work for gratitude to Mother Ma Mommy."

          "What if we help Mother do the household chores?" Dervla yawned.

          Seeing Dervla yawn made Saoirse yawn too, "bright idea!"

          Brigidarah also yawned when they yawned.

          "First, let's start making bed." Saoirse energetically pulled the wool blanket off Dervla and threw it in the air.

          Suddenly, Mother Ma Mommy entered the bedroom with a bucket of water and a multi-purpose brush and duster. The blanket that Saoirse tossed landed exactly on Mother Ma Mommy and unintentionally covered her entire body. Saoirse used this as an opportunity to hide the unknown creature under her clothing. Mother Ma Mommy picked up from one of the secret pockets of her apron, a pair of scissors. Then, she trimmed two holes on the blanket for both of her eyes.

          "How can I clean this bedroom if you are still here?" Mother Ma Mommy's voice echoed within the blanket.

          "Good morning, Mother Ma Mommy!" Brigidarah greeted happily as Saoirse did the same accordingly.

          "But, Sister Bridge, we're not sure if her morning is good," Saoirse whispered.

          "And you, Devy, why are you still sleeping this time? It's already late!" Mother Ma Mommy shouted as usual as her normal voice. "Lazy! Lazy!"

          "As lazy as Biglet!" Saoirse interrupted.

          "Okay, I'll rise..." Dervla yawned as she rose half-heartedly.

          "Mother Ma Mommy's the first pointer of the day." Saoirse used her left hand to give Dervla zero and her right hand to give Mother Ma Mommy one point. 

          The three sisters went to the kitchen to do their daily morning routine.

          "Before we serve others, we must love ourselves first," Dervla reminded as she brushed her teeth.

          "Mother Ma Mommy taught us that, not you!" Saoirse argued while rinsing her face with running water.

          "What if we wash the dishes too?" Brigidarah said while wiping her face with cotton towelette.

          "Let's volunteer!" Dervla said after spitting the toothpaste from her mouth.

          The three little women enjoyed washing the dishes. Soon, they found themselves playing soap bubbles until Saoirse lost her grip to the slippery ceramic. Mother Ma Mommy suddenly arrived like a superhero to catch the falling plate with one hand only. Saoirse accidentally pulled the copper kettle that hit the head of Mother Ma Mommy. She was not hurt because the wimple protecting her head is as sturdy as the skull of the ram.

          "What do you think you're doing? You're wasting zillion by consuming too much time and water!" Mother Ma Mommy took their place in washing the dishes.

          "I-I'm so sorry..." Saoirse looked down the floor.

          "I thought you were cleaning our bedroom, Mother?" Dervla asked while wiping dry her hands on Mother Ma Mommy's apron with secret pockets.

          "It's already done!" Mother Ma Mommy said loudly and proudly, "just go away and enjoy the day. This kitchen is too small for the four of us. I am used to handling this kind of work on my own."

          "You fully occupied the kitchen when you came," Dervla sarcastically said before leaving.

          What Dervla said disgraced Mother Ma Mommy's auditory nerves that pumped out from her forehead. But she didn't let anger to control her. Instead, she controlled anger, evident in her art of scrub-a-dub heavy-duty dishwashing. Yet, they were not saved from the gates of inferno exhausting fast and foul cries from the underworld. Uninterruptible, the two mindless sisters were too focused, watching how the kettle on her head began to boil the water in it. They knew what will happen next but they can't stand to watch it to happen.

          "Boom! You made her really mad!" Saoirse said while they were running as she supported the unknown creature around her tummy. "One point for you, Sister Dervla. It's now a tie!"

          They hastened back to their now bedazzling bedroom.

          "It's shiny clean," Dervla didn't seem surprised.

          "Even the wool blanket was sparkling with gleam!" Saoirse's eyes opened widely.

          The little ladies sat on their bed to discuss what they should do to help Mother Ma Mommy.

          "You still haven't contributed in this group work, Sister Saoirse." Brigidarah said.

          "We are not in classroom, Sister Brigidarah." Dervla reminded.

          "Oh I know, let's sweep along the floor of the hall!" Saoirse brightly said.

          "Let's try," Brigidarah and Dervla said in unison.

          The ladies walked down the hall to look for brooms. They were able to find three brooms. But Mother Ma Mommy was using it already. Yes, three brooms at the same time to create a vacuum cleaner effect.

          "Now, look at what you've done. Tsk! Tsk! I already finished sweeping that part." Mother Ma Mommy sighed from her nose, enough to dust off the floor.

          "Can we help you?" Saoirse cutely asked.

          "You don't have to. It would take you the whole day to finish sweeping this large hall." Mother Ma Mommy said as she continued to sweep the dusts from the feet of the three sisters.

          "I thought you were washing the dishes just a while ago," Dervla clarified.

          "It's already done! I can wash a hundred plate per minute." Mother Ma Mommy's nose sighed like launching rockets as she swept the footprint dusts left behind by the three sisters, leading to the laundry room.

          "Can we stop running for a while? Biglet is very heavy!" Saoirse tried to catch her breath.

          "Our house is too big. I'm sure Mother won't seek our hide." Brigidarah wiped her sweat with her hand.

          "What if we do the laundry?" Dervla suggested.

          "That would be a big help for Mom." Saoirse agreed.

          "First, we must sort the laundry," Dervla explained, "All white here...and all colored here..."

          Saoirse was very stressed with the combined black and white clothes. "Uhm...where will I classify this?"

          "You can put in on your body," Brigidarah said because she already overlaid Mother Ma Mommy's clothes over her garments.

          "Mother Ma Mommy's clothes are giant-sized!" Saoirse stretched the dress and found a face powder on the pocket.

          "Gee! It's like a tent." Dervla entered the black clothes. 

          Brigidarah started dancing around and singing along:

{Brigidarah}     "How do I look in this dress, Sister Saoirse?"

{Saoirse}     "You look like a bride, Sister Brigid."

{Brigidarah}     "Thank you!"

{Dervla}     "The dress looks more beautiful on the hanger, though"

{Saoirse}     "How about me?

How do I look in this make-up, Sister Devy?"

{Dervla}     "Beautiful!"

{Saoirse}     "As Brigid...?"

{Dervla}     "As Biglet! Duh! Rah!"

          "It's hard to do this kind of work." Saoirse complained.

          "Yeah, It's not easy." Brigidarah added.

          "Sometimes, I wonder," Dervla said, "Why didn't Mother Ma Mommy hire housemaids to do the household chores even if she's a millionaire..."

          "I don't know," Brigidarah answered and continued her song:

{Brigidarah}    " I remember how we used to role play"

{Brigidarah and Saoirse}     "Nursing baby dolls like a mother"

{Dervla}     "Our friends are the audience"

{Saoirse and Dervla}    " In the clover ground, our theater"

{Brigidarah, Saoirse and Dervla}     "We memorized what she always pray"

{Brigidarah}     "I wanna be a nun"

{Dervla}     "Ha! Praying to receive donations"

{Saoirse}     "I wanna be like mom"

{Brigidarah and Saoirse}     "Helping the poor through foundations"

{Dervla}     "All according to God's plan"

          "What's going on here?" Mother Ma Mommy heard them singing while she was sweeping the footprint dusts. "Who told you to wear my clothes?"

{Brigidarah}     "We wanted to be a millionaire like you, Mama,

To help the poor and to serve God"

{Saoirse}     "To achieve as you do, Mommy,

You're the greatest parent we ever had"

{Dervla}     "We're here to lend you our hands, Mother,

Let's discuss the salary later"

{Saoirse}     "It's because you only have two arms"

{Brigidarah}     "Left is for working"

{Dervla}     "Right is for disciplining"

{Brigidarah, Saoirse and Dervla}     "Both for us"

{Mother Ma Mommy}     "When left and right move as one,

It's for loving you"

{Brigidarah}     "So warm"

{Saoirse}     "A caring charm"

{Dervla}     "A heaven grace"

{Brigidarah, Saoirse and Dervla}     "We call you in many ways"

{Dervla}     "Mother"

{Brigidarah}     "Mama"

{Saoirse}     "Mommy!"

{Brigidarah, Saoirse and Dervla}     "Altogether,

We love you!"

{Mother Ma Mommy}     "I love you too!"

{Mother Ma Mommy}

"But you don't have to return the favor

A mother's love cannot be paid with labor

It's not your wish to be born in this world

You are my blessings from Our Lord

You don't have to do the laundry

Your hands are not meant for callous

You don't have to walk past my past

Just to learn

Experiences I've shared are not for you to try

I have paved the roads for you

To guide you to find your own paths

Now's your turn

 Dark history keeps on repeating

Because we keep on doing

Same things without learning

Likewise, a mother who keeps on reminding

Over and over, again and again the same thing

To break free from the cycle of up and down

You must learn to do things originally your own

So when the society storms you, you will not be blown

Our world is full of false prophets saying:

"Don't work hard. Work smart."

What they call strategy

Is their greed for money

Yuck! Don't look up on them

But I've known many smart people doing:

'Working hard and thinking smart.'

They are rare nowadays

Strange, the society betrays

Inspiring, I say, ehem!

Be rich in life, not rich in money

In a society sick of self-synthetic stress,

Poor are those who look at the money brought by success

Rich are those who saw the hard work nevertheless

Success can be defined in many ways possibly

While currency can only be defined by its quantity

Time will come when money will have no value

And all that's left will be just...you

By then, we will realize

Richness has no price

True wealth is gift from God

That everybody had

Green is the true gold

Nature unsold

Natural intelligent lives

Natural skills and talent drive

The worth of our birth

To take care of our Earth

From worldly denatures

Always

Work hard

Think smart

Naturally

Success and richness will come naturally."

          The three teens just listen to Mother Ma Mommy's musical poetic speech. They seemed to be too young to understand what she said. But time will come naturally. 

          "What is that foul smell?" Saoirse asked as she smelled the air.

          "It's natural! Hohoho! I just finished sweeping the floor and I haven't take a bath yet." Mother Ma Mommy felt awkward.

          "I think it's a smoke..." Brigidarah smelled Mother Ma Mommy.

          "A smoke from my sweaty underarm?" Mother Ma Mommy smelled her armpit.

          "Have you finished cooking, Mother?" Dervla thought so.

          "Sheep! I almost forgot I was cooking pancakes!" Mother Ma Mommy dramatically exited the laundry room. 

          "If Mother Ma Mommy won't let us help in the household chores, maybe, we can help Grandfather Ricky do the garden chores?" Brigidarah suggested.

          *Boom! Clink! Clang! Clutter! Clutter!*

          "Heeeeeeelp!" Mother Ma Mommy alarmed an emergency from the kitchen.

          The three sisters urgently attended to see how's going in the kitchen. They found Mother Ma Mommy at the corner, hurling some kitchenware at a tiny cockroach.

          "Thank heaven, please help me drive the cockroach away!" Mother Ma Mommy shook.

          "Uhm...you can do it on your own, I believe in you, Mother!" Dervla uttered and then left the scene. 

          "I'm an animal lover," Saoirse left too. "Here's your one point." 

          "Please, Bridge!" Mother Ma Mommy plead.

          "Ah...I'm scared of cockroach too!" Brigidarah tried to help but when the cockroach started to beat its wings, she, too, ran away from the kitchen.

          The cockroach flew like butterfly and landed on Mother Ma Mommy's apron with secret pockets.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!"