Tsuki no Sango - Oneshot - Part 2

This is a story from a long, long time ago. 

In a prairie named the Sea of Shadows, there sat a rock in the shape of a young girl. 

Beautiful light-brown hair. 

Innocent eyes and peach-colored lips. 

Slender, human-like arms and legs. 

Fair, polished, lime-like skin with not one wrinkle or bump. 

Unblemished, fair skin like polished limestone. 

It was a statue of a girl, beloved by thousands, created to conform to man’s image of beauty. 

Was it shaped like that originally? 

Or did it take that shape afterwards? 

As far as this world is concerned, the Legend of Pygmalion is but a story from far off exotic land. 

What is certain is that this girl was a princess from birth, and awakened through the desires of many people. 

The rest of the world was a single vast prairie, but around her was an ankle-deep lake, with blossoming flowers as far as the eye could see. It was all fake of course, merely imagery carved from limestone. 

Water in the sky, sky in the water. 

They asked her to wrap this cold world with warm ice. 

She was no longer sure exactly who had asked this. Many people had existed when she was born, but after taking a short nap, everyone had vanished. 

She was now alone, and she passed the time by coming up with theories as to what had happened. 

One theory was that everyone had died due to the system malfunctioning. 

But as long as she was alive, that couldn’t have happened. 

She had continued to provide any necessities, so it couldn’t have been any sort of accident that had annihilated everyone either. 

The next theory was that everyone was sleeping. 

There was a good chance that they had decided that staying awake was too troublesome and all closed their eyes together. 

She stretched out her senses over the surface of the world but could find no human presence. 

The humans really had disappeared completely from this land. 

As she slowly discredited one theory after another, she stumbled upon the laws of the land. 

According to these rules, residents were prohibited from loving other residents. 

Anyone who broke this rule was punished by exile down to the Earth. 

Perhaps then, everyone had been struck down by this law, and had fallen to the other side. 

Yes, that must be it, she nodded to herself. Or rather, since she wasn’t able to move her neck at all back then, she nodded with her feelings. 

This theory seemed to be the most credible one so far. 

But she was faithful to her duties, and so she continued to perform the task that was asked of her. 

First, she cut surplus nuclear energy to the cities. The entertainment facilities were clearly no longer needed. She redirected all the extra energy to environmental control. Within half a century, the Sea of Shadows had transformed into a city filled with trees and skies. 

That said, the trees were limestone, and the sky was just a fake sheet of ice cover, but it certainly fulfilled what was ordered of her. 

It was easy to fulfill what man wished for, as long as man himself wasn’t tasked to do it. 

She created seven seas on the Moon, and another half century passed. 

She thought man would return once she had fulfilled their wishes, but there was no trace of them. 

All alone on a soundless world. Sometimes, she came close to the truth, that people weren’t the ones exiled, but that she was placed on this planet alone to travel by herself. But because it was just a theory, she never gave it much more thought. 

She gazed up at the blue planet’s reflection off the ice, which would normally not be visible from here. 

Did everyone really travel there? 

She had built such a beautiful forest. 

The fact that no one would ever see it now really made it seem like it was all for naught. 

At any rate, she had no attachment to the forest. 

Then one day. 

She awakened to the sensation of footsteps on sand. 

She then remembered the feeling of something bumping into her body a little while ago. 

Upon becoming fully conscious, she was astonished to see something walking down the tree-lined street. 

It had a short and stout physique, and walked in a manner with limited movement range. 

It had the same kind of smooth monotone skin as herself, perhaps even shinier. 

It was almost like a tin kettle, a life form that would be taken as a joke in comparison to the aesthetic sense of this world. 

Her heart danced with excitement at such an unfamiliar experience as she observed it in astonishment. 

After all, this was the first time in all these years that an alien from space had come to visit this planet! 

“Wait, that can’t be right. Why is there an alien on the surface of the Moon?” 

She was, of course, mistaken. 

♦ 

What had actually arrived was a human from the surface. Technically speaking, it did come from space, but just like the previous inhabitants, she was unable to speak with it. Because she had no throat. 

But just as in the past, she was able to analyze his mumblings. 

What she was able to glean was very trivial, however. 

He had come to this planet alone, against the wishes of his peers. 

There was no particular meaning to his arrival. 

There can be no reason for leaving on a one-way trip alone, with nothing to gain. 

“I see, now. They have everything they need to live, but they were never able to overcome the emotional deficiencies. I suppose it’s not too surprising that a civilization more advanced than the surface eventually self-destructed.” 

And so he began living here, using the machinery of the city. 

A leisurely retirement, as one might call it. Every 12 hours he would come visit her location and mumble to himself while filling his tank with hydrogen. 

“Despite having the form of a human, perhaps it’s a little too arrogant to force human culture onto you too.” 

As he said this, he attempted to take off her dress, but she stopped him with all her might. As difficult as it was to believe, this was the first time she had been able to move her body freely. 

“Please forgive me for my actions yesterday. You hit me so hard I thought I was going to fly to Mars. If this were the surface, you’d be behind bars already. It looks like I’ll need to teach you about some of the finer points of humans.” 

He said this a bit sharply, despite blatantly accepting her aid. 

Still, she found the sound of his voice fresh, and felt a strange closeness to him. 

You could of course argue that anyone would have sufficed in such a situation, but I won’t dwell on that point. 

He was a new world for her. 

Why did such a wonderful person eome to this world of death? 

Unbelievable as it sounds, she empathically worried for him. 

Of the many theories, the one that she thought the most credible was that he was one of the humans. 

That he had been dropped onto this world as punishment for loving another. 

Or perhaps in the same way, he’d fallen in love with someone from this world, and had climbed back up this far after being sent down. But unfortunately, everyone living here had vanished. 

He had come here for love, but was unable to return to his world. 

This saddened her greatly, and so she worked even harder in order to try to provide a better life for him. 

However. 

“You shouldn’t waste. We don’t have limits on how we use resources, but if we run out, what will you do? If you run dry, you’d take me to the grave with you.” 

Her efforts were always in vain. 

At this point she had learned human words, and had even constructed vocal chords to talk with, but he would never listen to her. 

Rather, the more she spoke to him like a human, the more displeased he looked. 

She prepared many things for him. 

She worked harder than she ever had. 

She put enough effort into it to twist the roots of life, the very laws of nature. 

I probably don’t need to explain why. 

That was simply how much she had fallen in love with him. 

He was such an amazing person. 

He defined life for a stone like me. 

Those words have been etched into the coral till this day. 

Yet he never thanked her, but simply continued to consume. 

Have I become more human? 

She danced under the sky as she asked. 

This was the first day that she had been able to lift her legs off the ground. 

“If I had to compare, I’d say your body is closer to a coral.” 

Looking back on it, that was the first and only time he had ever praised her. 

But grandmother, I don’t think he was praising you. I think he was being sarcastic. 

Still, those words made her very happy. 

And for the next twelve hours, she felt nothing but pride for her silicate body. 

Their time together continued for almost half a year. 

The end came suddenly. 

When he finished repairing his ship, he carried her with him on board. 

She had grown weak and was unable to move, so boarding the ship and taking care of everything else was done without her say in the matter. 

Even so, her anxiety over leaving the Sea of Shadows was eclipsed by her joy in being with him. 

She closed her eyes in happiness while she sat in the tight enclosure that was only made to fit one person. 

“I grew tired of humanity and climbed to the Moon, abandoning everything.” 

His voice came from outside the ship. 

It echoed throughout the prairie, where up until now there had been no one, and where from now on there would be no one. 

“So it would be silly for me to love a human.” 

Her body wouldn’t move. 

Even if it could, the door wouldn’t open. 

She had already moved away from the planet, so the planet wouldn’t move for her either. 

The sky of ice which covered the planet shattered like a dream. 

“I don’t think that the affection you have for me is love. You simply don’t understand people yet.” 

As she pressed herself against the window, she remembered the law that she had forgotten. 

Anyone who falls in love with someone from the other world would be separated forever as punishment. 

“If you simply wish to satisfy your primal desires, then there are plenty of suitors on the surface. You should just live there.” 

Ah, he intends to stay behind, she mourned. 

But at the same time, she also understood that it was the best choice for him. 

“However. No matter what happens, you will not be a good thing for that planet. This will be the second time that I’ve killed humans on the surface.” 

For the past her, it would have been just a tiny spark of light. 

But for her now, the ship departed from the surface spewing a terrifying amount of heat and flame. 

Silver plains. 

The world that used to be her drifted farther and farther away, like a stranger. 

In her eyes, now that she’d almost become human, it was now just a small far-off planet. 

It glimmered alone in the dark sea. 

But even as she sailed across the blue sky, she had no time for tears. Because he was so cruel, he hadn’t made sufficient preparations for her safety. The ship only had enough fuel to enter the earth’s atmosphere, and it had no means of dealing with the impact of landing on a planet with six times the gravitational strength. 

The ship dissipated in the air, and just like the punchline of a bad joke, she plunged into the blue ocean upside-down. 

That was how this island started. 

She managed to survive, but the shock of the landing blew away her memories. It was at that time that the island grew a new coral reef. 

She lived here, gave birth to a child, and lived out her life. 

But every month. 

When the night of a full moon came, she would look into the sky, and smile happily. 

♦ 

Thus my first literary creation came to an end. 

“I get the feeling that you’ve mixed in your own personal opinions here and there. I can tell there’s bias in the depictions of the characters in certain places.” 

The tin editor voiced his disapproval three times in this manner. 

The next day would be a full moon. The little deliveryman had been teaching me how to write for a whole month. 

He couldn’t always understand me perfectly, so sometimes our conversations would run off course, but in general, they were stimulating days. I was taken aback by his appearance at first, but after a few days it became an ordinary sight to me. I still couldn’t see inside the tin suit because of his light-reflecting glass cover, but I could tell he was earnest, full of vigor, and above all, honest. It was almost as if he were a life form that didn’t understand the concept of lying or deceit. 

“I finished reading it. Would you like to hear my thoughts?” 

I nodded nervously in answer to his polite request. Even though I’d simply rewritten an ancient story in modern letters, I still felt a bit of embarrassment. 

“Please be gentle.” 

“It’s quite a bit different from the story I know, but it was very enjoyable. This lady was quite a beauty, wasn’t she?” 

“I suppose. I think she was a bit too naive, too peaceable. What about her did you like?” 

“She didn’t hesitate in anything she did. She must have been a very honest person. The reason why she couldn’t see everything else around her was because she believed intently in just one thing.” 

“You seem to be quite a supporter of hers, even though you shouldn’t have been able to read into her that much from just what I wrote.” 

“Oh, but I can. I can tell she didn’t have a hint of regret. All I read was her happiness from start to finish.” 

I was at a loss for words. 

That wasn’t how I thought I’d written it. I’d even gone out of the way to voice my own objections in the story. 

From my perspective, this was a cruel story. Ever since hearing it as a child. I’d always had questions about my grandmother’s tale. She had been thrown aside and abandoned after working so hard, so how could she be so happy? If love means being able to accept betrayal, then I can’t ever imagine myself embracing it. 

“I actually meant to write this as a tragedy.” 

“Her perspective is your perspective. That’s the type of life form you are. You inherit your mother’s memories as your own. And that’s why, no matter how much you disagree yourself, you are unable to stray from the true roots of this story. No matter what you may think, the original emotions are etched into your genes.” 

“...I don’t really get it, but can I take that to mean you approve?” 

I couldn’t hide the slight displeasure in my voice. 

The tin man nodded. 

“It wasn’t what I was expecting, but it turned out to be even better. I definitely like it.” 

“Expecting? What were you expecting?” 

“A story about the coral reef. In my country, the coral reef of this island shines in a mysterious way. I was wondering if perhaps you knew why this coral reef glows.” 

The most precious product of this island. 

The coral reef that glows during the full moon. 

Those trees, shaped like coral, give birth to great quantities of oxygen and nitrogen on a routine basis. They say that it allows the history of humanity to keep going for just a little longer, pointless though it may be. Personally I don’t think there’s any particular meaning to it. 

“I’m sure your people must treat its glowing as an ordinary event. I imagine that the illumination is some sort of ecological function. I believe such coincidences just happen.” 

With that, he hid himself in his ship. Rather, he buried himself in it. Not long after, he pulled out a wrapped object about the size of himself. 

“I’d been wondering where I should deliver this, but after some investigation, it would appear that you are the recipient. This is an exchange, but also part of my job. Please accept it.” 

Within the wrapping was a single sea shell. It was as pure white as the galactic nebula. 

I instinctively placed the shell to my ear. 

Tss, tss. 

It was a constructed like a spiral shell. The sound of waves could be heard from the organ-like swirl. 

Tss, tss. 

CQCQ, can you hear me? 

Following the sound of waves was a quiet recording. 

Ah, this is a recorder. 

It was a sound recording of the story of someone in some far off place. 

“I don’t understand what it means. I’ll entrust it to you for a day, and if you find it to your liking, please keep it in exchange for this book. Until tomorrow, then.” 

The small man gripped the helm and pointed his ship towards the sky. 

I quickly called out to him. The acceleration and mobility of his vessel was nothing to sneeze at. He’d be long gone if I looked away for even a second. It vexed me to admit that I’d not once been able to catch him. 

“What is it?” he replied, turning back. 

“You didn’t give me a grade. How many points do I get?” 

“Oh, come now. Assigning points to a book? I can’t do such a thing.” 

He seemed to be hiding his embarrassment as he replied, and then disappeared into the western sky. 

That was the first time I’d heard a human-like, emotional voice from him.