Short Story/Reading Play Scenario: 'Memories of the Moon'

Synopsis

This is a story of a devoted love spanning over 10 billion years. In a certain galaxy in the far reaches of the universe, there exists a planet that glows blue, harboring and nurturing countless lives within it. Sometimes fierce, sometimes fragile, she shines the light of her life with unwavering brilliance. Orbiting by her side, I have quietly watched over her entire existence.

I want to hold you. Even just a little, I want to touch your soft atmosphere. But that was a wish that would never come true.

Prologue

It began as 'dust'.

Dust gathered to become small fragments, then even larger masses.

Eventually, I was born amidst a massive collision.

Since then, I have been watching you from here all this time.

Act I

Your first cry was tremendous.

You shook the earth and spewed scorching magma. You flushed your small body and continuously exploded with energy.

Before long, gently wrapped in atmosphere and sea, you fell into a peaceful, calm slumber. It is strange. No matter how far apart we are, I can feel your pleasant rhythm of ebbing and flowing. It makes me feel very at peace.

In the pitch-black void, the light you emitted was so faint and fragile. When I thought that you might easily break, my chest tightened with pain. For the first time, I learned what 'fear' was.

That was when it happened. A massive comet tore through space, approaching at a furious speed. It passed right in front of me without a sound and fell into you as if being sucked in. I could do nothing but watch it happen.

A beat after the intense shockwave.

You, having awakened, roared and swallowed the comet in an instant.

I was terrified that you might burst apart just like that. Ignoring my worries, you chewed it up and sank it deep into your core. Before I knew it, you were no longer a baby, were you?

At some point, you harbored many small lights within your body. Those lights gave you a special brilliance little by little. Even now, when I remember that moment, my heart trembles.

Before dawn. The whitening void. Your deep, clear, beautiful blue, crowned by the dazzling light of the sun.

The moment the blue planet was born.

Your growth from there was remarkable. The life that sprouted all at once was diverse, colorful, and above all, overflowing with the joy of living. Your clear radiance, holding and cherishing them in your arms, was dazzling to me.

Even so, amidst your youthful vitality, they sometimes perish or are replaced. Please, do not be sad. While repeating their lives, they connect tomorrow, fragile yet resilient and devoted.

By the time you had fully matured and entered a peaceful era, an interesting species appeared. No other species had ever captivated me as much as they did.

Act II

A truly interesting species.

'Living to leave descendants'—they are beings who burn their lives for things other than that.

Their progress was faster than ever before.

They speak, fight, and steal.
They build and destroy.
They think and hone their skills.
They play music, sing, and dance.
They draw, color, write, and weave.
They rejoice, get angry, feel sad, and enjoy.

Unlike the species before them, their activities are full of waste. Moreover, their desires are never satisfied. I could not take my eyes off their 'way of life'.

One day, they finally descended to me. Life forms smaller and more fragile than I imagined. Originally, their bodies could not withstand this void. They overcame it with knowledge and skill, traveling from the far-off ground across space to reach me.

Hey, did you send them to me?

Hey, little ones. Tell me about her, the one I love so much.

Her warmth, her tone, her colors, her softness, her ferocity.

For a brief moment, I was able to feel them on my surface. Tiny objects that would fly away if blown. Such small objects acting with will. And above all, those small objects certainly inherited your miraculous brilliance.

Now, take care on your way back, little ones. To her.

The time of your vitality arrived once again. The earth cracked, the sea overflowed, and flames were about to burn down the civilization they had built on the ground. As it had been until now, many species would perish in that change.

However, this time is different from before. There were those who resisted fate and took unprecedented actions.

As if breathing into the void, countless lights were released. Ships entrusted with the future took off all at once. They are setting out on a journey to find a land of peace for themselves. To live for tomorrow. To continue living.

Before long, the lights connected like a river, slowly moving away.

Goodbye, children. May your journey be safe. May the precious light inherited from her never be extinguished.

Wishing this, I watched them go until the river of light could no longer be seen in the far distance.

It is alright, your wishes are reaching them properly, too. Because among your children, they are the ones who are especially strong and resilient.

Final Act

How much time has passed since then?

Before I knew it, the surface had dried up and was covered in sand. Storms rage here and there, but there is nothing left to break.
Only the sand dances.

The long night that has arrived is dyeing itself ever darker.

Hey. Can you hear my voice now?
Do you remember? We were born from tiny 'dust' like a single grain of sand.

Could you have imagined it back then? The warmth of that rich and beautiful life that was to be born. The atmosphere overflowing with the joy of living.

The flickering of precious life that is sometimes foolish and cruel, yet never gives up on living.

You are special.

In this pitch-black universe, I know of no other planet as beautiful as you.

I know of no other planet as full of love as you.

Living with you for such a long, long time, I was truly happy. Soon, our functions will stop. Eventually, the sun will return everything to how it was.

----At that moment. You shone with an exceptionally bright light.

I feel the force that has kept us apart for so long loosening. I tilted unsteadily. Your gravity is slowly pulling me in.

Ah, I have been longing for this moment for so, so long.

I want to touch you. I want to hold you. I...

I was wrapped in a pure white, warm, and soft light.

Now, we return to 'dust'.

end

Afterword

That's right, I'll draw a picture book! I thought that a few years ago.
I was inspired while studying World Heritage registration criterion (viii), 'the history of the evolution of life and the formation of the Earth'.
The subject is the 4.6 billion-year history of the Earth and its future 10 billion years from now.

In the ancient past, the eras when Anomalocaris, Dunkleosteus, Ichthyostega, and Tyrannosaurus reigned.
There were life forms adapted to the environment of each era, and what constituted a 'rich Earth' was different for each one.

The current Earth, which has arrived here after 4.6 billion years of repeated extinction and evolution.
Its form is not eternal.
Just as all life has a beginning and an end, planets and stars also have lifespans.

That might be obvious, but it was an eye-opener for me, and many things fell into place.

Just like the Cambrian creatures and dinosaurs, human history is also instantaneous in the history of the Earth.
A 'beautiful and rich Earth' as a comfortable living environment for humanity is not necessarily the best environment for the Earth itself.
With that in mind, the radiance of the Earth right before my eyes now.
How miraculous and precious the way of life nurtured there is.

This is a story I imagined from such thoughts.
Although I call it a picture book, I cannot draw, so this is the first completed work by Kurikuri that I wrote down and published on note.

For this Creative Award challenge, I added to and revised it as a devoted story of a moon in love with the Earth.

I am entering it in the All Categories section as a scenario for reading aloud or storytelling.

#CreativeAward2024 #AllCategoriesSection