There's a common sentiment amongst kids.

Ask them, what your favourite planet is. They'd answer, "Saturn! I love the rings!"

"Mars! We are going there soon, aren't we? It has the highest mountain in the entire solar system!"

"Venus! It's the brightest! It outshines the stars!" That is beautiful though. The planet named after the femme fatale of the gods, outshining all the other stars in the night sky; but that child probably might not have heard about the dog named Sirius.

"Jupiter! It's the biggest planet there is! It's moons' are as big as planets and it has a never ending storm! It's so cool!" Then he'd pause, look through his encyclopedia and add, "Oh! And it says here you could fit two Earths inside the Great Red Spot. Our planet is so puny compared to Jupiter... "

The bastard from the backbench would smugly smirk and say "Uranus. Bahahaha!"

Giving him no mind, some others would name Mercury, since it's the fastest planet there is, and someone may name Neptune because they like it's pretty blue colour and it also has never ending storms. Kinda...

But, only a handful of children would attempt to say, "Earth." The little girl who says it- there's a good chance that her parents taught her to say so. To sound pure and hopeful, which actually sounds cheesy and cringey to the others because it doesn't sound genuine coming from a child's mouth when there are far more interesting planets around.

There might also be a nerd who'd point out planets from other solar systems, but the teacher bans him, saying that's cheating.

However, few realise why Earth is so special. Because, to us, it's not. It's the most normal planet. Because, we are the most used to to it. Because, it is home. The other planets are surely far more exotic.

But in fact, they are not.

Earth is an abnormality. Was...

It's the only planet to harbour life. Until I found out... it's not the only one.

It has bore us, creatures who can ponder their own existence consciously and act to uncover their roots, and slowly break away from the boundaries nature had set for them.

Earth, has always been, the most exotic planet in our solar system.

In fact, our solar system was by far the most exotic out of all the others that we had managed to discover.

We had a medium-sized star, while most had red dwarfs. We had Earth! And another peculiarity, we lacked the most common kind of planet. A superearth. A planet which is rocky, at least two times larger than the Earth and which has a dense atmosphere like the gas giants, with a mass upto ten times the mass of the Earth. A planet bridging the gap between the rocky planets and the gas giants.

A planet, that we have all found ourselves on, now.

And having found a planet we didn't have in our solar system, we have lost a planet that we had known ever since humankind came into existence. The only planet we knew of, until a millennium ago.

It only churns my memory of the day I realised my planet Earth... was so special. The day, I ceased being the jerk backbencher calling Uranus my favourite planet.

Yeah, that was me.

_____________

I sense a great flood sweep me past. The peaceful fantasies of my dreams are shattered by gushing cold water.

"Waaaaah!" I heave in breaths as I sit up with eyes sprung open. "Mum! I told you that is barbaric!"

"Do me a favour and get up on time then. Sleeping at two in the morning is unhealthy."

"What even... How many times have I told you everyone does it. It's normal! Their parents seem to have no problem with it. And besides, isn't today a Saturday?"

She places her hand on her waist. "The others have much better schedule than you do. I've told you countless times to do things in an organised and efficient manner, but you never listen." Rolling her eyes in frustration, she then sighs. "But yes, today is a Saturday. Guess why you're awake then."

I frown. It is queer. Normally Mum wouldn't have bothered to wake me up and would have gone off to Mrs Sotheby's by now, with the breakfast kept on the table beside the oven.

She sighs as she picks up the bucket. "I'd tell Blake you forgot. That'd be better," she walks off.

"What...NO WAIT!" I stumble out of the bed but my feet get stuck and I end up falling over.

The impact racks my brain. "Owwww.... " I rub my head and neck.

She smirks. "That ought to have woken you up."

As I wince at the temporary pain, my phone rings. It buzzes beside the night lamp and when I pick it up, I hear a muffled voice, incoherent words coming out. "Nicky, I can't understand anything. Swallow. Breathe. Talk."

"Mhfay." She clears her throat after swallowing the food. "What's your status? I'm almost done with breakfast and would be leaving in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes? You dressed up and ready?"

I hear nervous chuckles.

"Yeah, half an hour at least then," I tease.

"Dude I'm not too picky, but, today kind of has me excited."

"Hmm." I stare upwards. It is a special day indeed, now that I remember it all. But, I doubt we would arrive on time. "Blake? How's he doing?" I say.

She doesn't reply anything for a moment. "Hello? You there?"

I hear her chair slide and footsteps hurrying towards the basin. In the meanwhile I change out of my nightwear into something casual, comfortable, and presentable. Luckily, Mum had it all covered on the sofa.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm done. Blake? I called him. But he was busy on another call. He hasn't rung me back yet. He should arrive on time though."

"Yeah, he'd probably be the first." I grunt. "To be fairly honest, he is too punctual."

"Ladies like that, you know?" she giggles.

"Yeah, no wonder he's so experienced," I humph.

"It's good to have someone like him around is why! You get all the advice you could possibly need for free. But he plays it too cool, you must agree."

"Well, that's his charm, I guess."

I hear her bolt up the stairs. "So anyway. How far along are you?"

I chuckle nervously.

"You just woke up didn't you! Urrghhh, one day Jordan! Just for one day can't you keep time?!"

"What can I do, I was having this wonderful dream. It felt wrong to wake up. But Mum did, anyways."

"As always."

I grunt. "Yeah, as always."

"Be there by ten, 'kay?"

"Yeah, sure. No problem. I'd brush my teeth now. "

"See ya."

"See ya."

With the call ended, I make a sprint towards the bathroom. She doesn't know I haven't even taken a dump yet. I better be quick!

"Yaaaaah!" I put all of my force into it. "Ignition!"

_____________

Somehow by some miracle I lighten myself in ten minutes, which is fast. Oh so fast. Having brushed simultaneously, now I jump my way downstairs to have my morning meal. "Anything but bread... Anything but bread." Don't get me wrong, I like bread and butter, jam and stuff. But it takes too damn long to chew and down. Yeah, you can drink milk simultaneously to hasten the process, but I'm not a fan of that. Sandwiches are fast though.

To my great surprise, there's cereal on the table. "Mum, why you-"

"I didn't get the time sorry."

"You woke up late as well?!"

"Now, now. Be fast. Like you were up there."

I groan and put in water instead of milk on my bowl. I don't want an upset stomach groaning and bubbling for a day that would push my body to its limits.

I shake the box of cereal into the bowl, soak them in for a minute, then chow them down. Endure, Jordan! Endure! You must persevere!

Within five minutes I've somehow finished my breakfast. I open the fridge, drink a lot of orange juice to freshen my mouth, rub my hand over my mouth, then grab my bag resting on the living room sofa like I left it yesterday, and finally exit the house.

"Bring a dozen eggs on your way back, and be careful with them!"

"Aaaaaaah!" I scream as I sprint faster and faster to reach the bus stand.

My phone rings. I receive it through my smart watch. "I'm running as fast as I can!"

"Seriously, Jordan? They are starting within half an hour. Haul your ass! I've been standing here for seventeen minutes."

"Find some entertainment then!"

"Entertainment? Oh I have plenty. I've been chatting with her all this time. Also got myself a cold coffee. Tasted heavenly."

"Nicky out yet?"

"We both know the answer to that."

I exhale as I end the call. She'd be there before me. She's closer to the destination. Plus she is excited. When she is excited, she can accomplish anything.

"So can I. So can I. Faster. FASTER!" I raise my thumb at an oncoming bus and get on. "Astronautica," I pant, as I hand the conductor the fare.

He pulls out a ticket and gives it to me.

"Half an hour. I should make it in time."

I take a seat just as it gets vacated. "Ooh, feeling lucky already!"

____________

The bus arrives three minutes from the scheduled time of the debut show. I get down and make a sprint through the crowd towards the dome that looks like Saturn had a baby.

I ring Blake up. He answers on the first ring. "I've taken the seat. Waiting for you."

"I'm here! Running!"

"Great. Nicky made it here a second ago. We are good to go," he says enthusiastically.

I go up the ticket counter as he terminates the call. I take out the VIP pass Blake had got us three, and enter. I look around for a few seconds until I spot the two sitting in the middle row. It's not fully crowded, with a few seats to spare. There's one beside Blake which I quickly take.

"Nice save, dude!" Nicky raises her fist, and I bump it with mine.

Right then, the planetarium darkens.

And then-

Shine the stars.

All around.

They swarm. Shine. Glimmer.

The view rotates vertically downwards as slowly we come across the Earth. The sky around it a total black, speckled with white. Celestial flashlights all aglow diminished to pinpricks.

And then, a massive structure emerges into our field of vision.

The ISS comes into view.

A wistful voice soothing to the ears and ripe with passion, narrates, "The ISS travels around the world sixteen times a day. Sixteen sunrises, and sixteen sunsets."

____________

What followed was a mesmerising journey, of me looking at my home planet with my friends from a totally different perspective. It excited me. My body reacted; my instincts made me feel the exotic nature of my planet.

And from there on, my view changed.

And Earth became my favourite planet.

...

But now?

What happens when Earth is no longer special?

What happens when you come to find it is not the only planet in the universe to harbour life? That in fact it's one of many?

Does it stay special anymore? Or is it just another habitable world?

If you look at it like that, it doesn't seem so special, does it?

...

Well, I beg your attention then.

We all, are stranded. On this world so far from home. An exciting world. A habitable world. It has rings! There are advanced space stations in the orbit. Different vegetation, unimaginably long days that we haven't seen the end of yet. Pink clouds...

A new world.

But-

An alien world.

Sure, we feel excited. We appear mesmerised. But, deep inside there's that feeling that we do not belong here. Somewhere deep inside, the human in us begs the question, again and again. Is this normal?

Because it isn't.

We grow tired. We long to see human cities sometimes. We long to see trees, smell in the familiar breeze, sit at the beach, watch the waves, or look from high atop the mountains... the scnery from the height. We long to see the Moon.

But we can't.

Because they don't exist anymore.

All this time, deep inside, we carried a hope. That somewhere, our home existed, a home to return to. But now, what are we to do? What should our goal be, now that it is destroyed?

And that's why I cry now. Realising it all, when the magnanimity of the weight should have taken a while to sink in.

Because it's not only my emotions.

Space buddy, had lost his too. And upon seeing my planet destroyed the same way, his emotions resurface.

A fish dies when brought out of water. But, in an aquarium, it survives. But, the fish in the aquariums are far different than the ones at sea.

Are humans even human anymore, without the Earth that bore them?

Well, we are about to find out.

But we deserve to know why.

The why to what demanded the destruction of our birthplace.

Rebellion would be anything but fruitful, now that we don't have a home to return to. But why. Why take it so far. We absolutely have to know.

"Because even I want to see the sunset."

...

But... I can't.

...

Earth would always remain unique, one of a kind. Because, there's no place like home.

There never will be.

And now, we may inhabit the stars.

But, we don't have a home anymore.

We are reduced to mere vagabonds.

...

What purpose does our existence hold now?

What meaning do these spilt tears of mine hold?

Nothing? Does my existence amount to nothing? Or is there still a greater purpose calling?

I would surely find the answer.

Inside.

Or maybe, "Beyond."