prologue (2/2)
It’s not that anyone left of their own volition, one day, by some influence, they were suddenly erased from existence
And the days pass
… One week One week
For seven days, you search every nook and cranny, and try to gather information
You hold the food you stole from the department store in one hand as you think
In places with self-generation and solar panels, you can use electricity
Your horew up in You ers that can use electricity
It’s not that you didn’t feel guilty about it
But to be caught… you wished for someone to appear to apprehend you for your crimes
Your ideals cruelly betrayed you
You quickly gathered up the itees that would spoil easily
And not just into a single house, you spread the electricity
You heard that canned goods could last even ten years after their expiry dat
But still, a large ao bad
After about teeks, the smell started to stand out
Not from your own stock, but from the entire town
Trash that had been throay Foodrefrigerators
But human adaptability is to be feared
In tiet used to it
And so three weeks passed, and when it had gotten to be around a month, you noticed
It wasn’t only humans
Around the rotten, blackening food, not a single fly circled
When you go to the departle cockroach
No crows grace the skies, and even after walking through the forest, you show no signs of mosquito bites
Your only saving grace is that processed goods are still somewhat safe
It orize them as life, but plants still live on
Eventually, you get used to life, and decided to take a single course of action
You would search for some life besides your own
Fro institute, you borrowed awithout a license
(TL: Driving isn’t as common in japan)
A few days later, after detere by car
At the start, you held so a car, but even that quickly faded
There was no one driving on the opposite lane, and no people in the first place The traffic signals didn’t even work
When you ran out of gas, you would sie to a different vehicle
Your journey continues
It will continue until you find some form of life besides your own
Your journey continues
No matter how much time passes
Your journey continues
A day, a week, a month, a year, a decade
Until you find life…
Until your life runs out…
Infinitely, eternally…
Of course, as I said before, all of this was but a hypothetical story
But…
If someone like that were to find life… if they were to meet another, then just what sort of face would they make?
— It would… definitely be one like this
Beforea robe that covered her whole body The robe’s color was close to silver
From the hood, that covered almost all of her face, streaht
Her complexion was that of a person who had witnessed a o She shed tears of joy, and gave a wide smile
『fukametni temu met mawozamph… Chnitch temu met mawozamph…』
The girl en land
It’s not like I could understand any of the words she said
There’s no way I could truly grasp her heart, her thoughts, or joy
But I could understand what she was saying
Thank you for being born… thank you for being alive…
— That day, in a world without life, I met her