amazarashi

The Story of a Thousandth of a Night:

Starlight
 Chapter One
“Whether we have passion or hope, it hurts being here.”
Part One

As soon as they stepped of the first platform of Antares station, the humid air came over
the two like a damp cloth. Tomaso instinctively twitched his nose uncomfortably.

“Really looks like summer, eh?” Johan said while staring at the towering solar pillar.

From the elevated platform, they could see the entire city’s heart of the planet. Tomaso
couldn’t believe his eyes; the view left him breathless.

In some areas, the buildings reached the level of the trees and in one corner, the greenery
resembled a plantation. The large city gave Tomaso a swift reminder of the simplicity of his rural
hometown. But, above all, was the horizon, flat and far as the eye could see. Once more, Tomaso
was absolutely breathless.

However, when they started walking out of the station, they could see the ruins of the city
it once was. They noticed that everything was devastated. The asphalt-paved road was a sign of
laceration in the city. Cracks everywhere, moss filling its scars. The space in-between the
buildings were full of crows’ gourds. The more they saw, the worse it got, there were poles that
separated the sidewalk and the street, all intertwined, all of it implying that the city shouldn’t be
a city anymore, its task should already be finished.

Tomaso and Johan both noticed that the only living beings that were alive were them and
the plantations. No living soul, not a face could even be remotely seen.

Through the blank space in-between the buildings they could see that pillar of Sun
occasionally, maybe it was the heart of the ruin once called a city. That Sun, burning furiously,
seemed to be the only source of light. The purple pillars of light were growing onto the city’s
grounds.

“This planet has no night,” Johan said, “The Sun will never-ever sink.”

Tomaso, while watching the townscape become dyed in purple light, thought “It’s almost
like a night, but...”

Johan and Tomaso wiped away their increasing sweat. They had already been walking for
half an hour in that place. They came across an intersection in the road. Four streets there were.
So distant from the exact center of the cursed city it seemed to be that the buildings too became
sparse. At the street side there were trees and flowers that remained native. The road itself had a
myriad of flowers and plants piercing through the black asphalt.

“Here is the SCORPION 4-ROADS,” Johan said, as usual.

“That grass is called ‘scorpion plant’. The leaf root has the same appearance as a scorpion
tail.”

Despite being young, Johan knew many things, and, from time-to-time, he would preach
them. Sometimes, his same-age friend, Tomaso, made fun of him, saying that he was a young
granny. Ironically or not, adults really enjoyed his presence. More than anything, they bought out
all of the tourist guides, and Tomaso was very thankful of that.

“That building.”

Johan held Tomaso’s hand and started walking fast. They were headed towards the
wooden structure built at the corner of the 4-streets. It was a hut, and it seemed to be their
destination. Vegetation gripped the sides of the hut and a tree burst from the roof. There was no
sign of any living person. Johan would pull apart all of the Johan-tall grass, just to find the
entrance. Without hesitation, he opened the door.
 Chapter One
“Whether we have passion or hope, it hurts being here.”
Part Two

The hut was dim inside. Hanging from the lintel was a plant stem. Its smell was like a
humid mold. There was half-eaten bread, a pet bottle on the ground, a helmet, some forgotten
clothes, a pair of tinted glasses and et cetera, all of it scattered. Looking through the crevice, a
welcoming mat could be faintly seen. One could also notice that it was a traditional
Japanese-style room. On the chest of drawers there was a Chinese Hypericum inside a vase,
though it didn’t seem so lively like a healthy one.

They squinted their eyes to adjust to the dark and soon noticed a man sitting before a
desk in the corner. His face could be seen by the reflection on the screen, seeming to be
observing them.

On the desk, there was a CD case, a paperback and some other things stacked one over
the other. Some pill-like things were also scattered all over.

They advanced to the man slowly, just to take a little peek at him.

The display shot a glance of light into the sloppily open mouth of the poor bastard. Just
before both of the man eyes, the Chinese Hypericum was blooming. He started beating each of
the keyboard’s keys, startling both Tomaso and Johan. The poor man’s height was Tomaso plus
two gourds. His neck and his palm were thin, making him look like an aging dead tree.

“We came to greet you, sir,” Tomaso said, but the only answer that was delivered was his
silence.

Johan pointed his finger to his lower body.

 “I think it’s already too late.”

A root of a plant was growing into and around his ankle, the rotten hole in the tatami was
firmly rooting that poor dead man.

“I’d like to take you to Polaris,” Tomaso said once more. The flower man stopped
smashing the keyboard keys.

The words got through to him for once, at least that’s what Tomaso thought, but the
rooted man took some pills and resumed his monotonous smashing. Tomaso’s voice wasn’t
enough, after all. He was already too late, just as his mind feared.

Tomaso finally realized that the man was himself. At least, he saw it like that. He was
blindly aiming for Polaris, travelling through the stars, travelling through his past…

In his own memories, he glared down into a gaping, dimly lit hole, riddled with guilt, just
as the man was blankly staring that screen and smashing the keys on the keyboard.

He’d grown tired of that dark molded room, so he averted his eyes from all of those
things. In the past, Tomaso experienced some disappointment and give-ups, causing him to
become desperate in this moment. In struggling times, he would feel his feet tied, like an
inescapable bog. Inevitably, he would find himself idly floating in it, losing all self-esteem in the
process. However, he wouldn’t lose his hope in his own life.

He started feeling somewhat heavy, so he turned his back. Johan’s young eyes said
something, but his mouth didn’t emit a single wave of sound whilst he was starring the flower
man. Tomaso, regardless of it, faced the cramped entrance. He purged the hanging plant stem
with his hand, and, lonely, went outside.

The purple sky from Antares fills Tomaso’s mood, oddly enough.

“Still nighty night, I guess,” he thought alone.

The already late Johan got out of the room. He softly muttered “Thanks for waiting. Shall
we go to the next stop?”

What lies at the end of the night? Tomaso wanted to know that.
 Chapter Two
“We shouldn’t be alone.”
Part One

Tomaso and Johan were by the river-side. It was such an enormous river, it looked like a
sea. The other side of the river was far away, so far in fact that they thought that if you relied on
a single pen to draw a line to the other line, the ink would end halfway through. A milky-white
water was gently flowing, the sunlight was strongly shining, and the river was reflecting its
beautiful light. The animal-road would also continue endlessly by the river-side. Sometimes you
could hear the birds chirping or the dogs howling. At the opposite side of the same river there
was a huge forest, and from this side you could feel the living creatures in there.

After the arrival on Altair, they kept walking for at least half a day, and while they were
in a totally peaceful pacing and told laid-back old stories. Though, they heard a beastly voice and
stopped the moment they did. They listened. The voice was aimed at them.

“This neighborhood should have swans…”

Johan said while looking around the forest.

Johan said that because his objective whilst in the star is to find swans. How it related to
his memories, Tomaso didn’t have a slight clue.

They’ve been walking for a while. Near the river-side there were many lotus leaves
floating and standing out. It was really similar to the Vitória-Régia from Brazil, Johan said.

When Tomaso started searching for the rare floating Vitória-régia, he found a human
figure sitting down a bit ahead on the river-side, most likely a girl.

The girl also seemed to notice them. He straightened his eyes, apparently to check the
situation.
 Tomaso remembered the nostalgic figure of a girl. What was her name again? His chest
started aching at the vague feeling of nostalgia. He felt like he had the obligation to compromise
with that girl.

“What are you doing?” he asked the girl.

“I want to cross to the other side. Someone is waiting for me there,” such a fragile voice
answered his question.

The girl was carrying a huge rucksack on her back. She opened the rucksack lid, pulling
little white flowers from the inside, leading to a lot of facial expressions. While she was picking
up the petals, Tomaso was daydreaming.

Johan impolitely said:

“We’re leaving off to Polaris. If you’re okay, can we go?”

A puzzling shadow fell over that girl, which seemed to not have a single drop of blood
running through her white face.

“There are people waiting, Tomaso.”

The girl returned her line of sight to the other side of the sea-like river.

Both of them being ignored felt horribly uncomfortable, so they both averted their sights
from the face. Both of them said goodbye to the girl to resume their search for the swans.

Johan said that the swans should be living nearby. He didn’t seem to know the place at
all. He would overlook everything. It was certain there would be swans inside the forest, so when
he couldn’t find them, they entered the deep dark woods.

They’ve started to look around that coniferous forest, walking through the thick grass and
shrubs. The sunlight filtering through the trees was towering like a pillar.

Walking further inside the forest would only make them get even more lost, so they just
walked in a straight line from the river. While walking, Johan took some bread out of his pocket
to call out the swans.

They had already been walking for an entire day, so they looked for any tree root that
seemed comfortable. They found one and sat on it. Some time after resting, they would progress
with the swan chasing.

While sitting on the root, that girl wouldn’t leave Tomaso’s mind in peace. They met the
girl anywhere, so that would be one more sad memory to keep in his mind, with its infinite
drawers. That girl’s blurry image would one day reflect on the back of his mind, and then
disappear as fast as it seemed to meet Tomaso’s eye.
 Chapter Two
“We shouldn’t be alone.”
Part Two

Finally, the sun seemed to have started to drown. The tower of light that the sunlight
filtered throughout the trees was getting weaker, and the forest was turning dangerous.

Johan said, “Let’s turn away.”

After all, they didn’t find the so-forsaken swans. Both of them were completely worn out,
exhausted from the search. The bread Johan carried was already being digested by that time.

While walking back, Tomaso found a bush covered in little white flowers that were still
growing. The same flowers the rucksack girl took out of her bag.

“Oh, that’s a tea-of-heaven,” Johan said noticing the sudden stop from Tomaso.

On that blistering-hot and humid summer evening, Tomaso was watching everything
outside from a window of the first floor of an apartment. Time flowed slowly, Sunday was
dazzlingly odd. Far away he could see a transmission tower or something of the likes, its color
was orange, until it reached the growing tea-of heaven bush in the garden. From the open
window he breathed the blistering-hot summer air in and out, and Tomaso gently smiled towards
the girl sitting next to him.

“I remembered.”

Suddenly a rush of memories punched Tomaso’s mind.

“I was living with that girl.”

 The once blurry and distant days spent with her now were flowing as clear as a
dilapidated crystal.

“As expected, I had to take her.”

As soon as Tomaso said it, he aimed at the river and started running towards it. Johan
took back his feet and started chasing after that running Tomaso.

After getting lost in the forest, they arrived at the river-side when the sun was already
going down. Many stars were already twinkling by that time. Tomaso impatiently started looking
for the Tea-of-Heaven girl, and she was still sitting in the same place.

“Ah,” the girl muttered. She was facing the other shore of that enormous river. Tomaso
sat down and also faced to the other shore. Then, a little—but dazzling—brilliant star shone.

“As for me… I… I have to go, you know?” the girl muttered to Tomaso.

Quickly, the girl’s hands turned to beautiful wings, and the flowers she carried turned into
her feathers. Her figure changed entirely to a beautiful swan.

Tomaso, however, was not surprised, and the girl, well, she started flapping her wings.
Only the stars were capable of illuminating that swan, who flew into the endless night. The night
star was beautifully reflected by the water surface. Tomaso was totally at loss, because he would
never be able to see that figure again. Until it disappeared from the other side, Tomaso kept
observing the beautiful swan-girl in silence. One day, he would have to say goodbye to
something, may it be his past, or even his present… He would not forget his regrets; he would
faintly remember them.

Things that he thought that shouldn’t be forgotten would be completely dead in his
memory one day. He realized that the things he will lose will also be forgotten, so he couldn’t
bear them anymore.

“Why are the things I don’t want to forget and the things I shouldn’t forget so difficult to
remember?” He thought to himself. While staring at that dazzling light, he could finally
understand.

He felt a little bit of pain in the palm of his left hand, like that of a sharp needle
perforating his hand. He turned and faced his palm and saw a little plant bud growing through his
hand.

“Hey, that’s a Chinese Hypericum,” said Johan, by his side while the bud was cutting
through, “It’s known as the flower of giving-up.”

The forest was screaming with so many beasts and insects resonating together. The sound
of the river flowing remained a white noise.

What lies at the end of the night? Tomaso wanted to know that.
 Chapter Three
“Are there any answers beyond this endless night?”
Part One

Tomaso was looking outside through the train window, that pitch-black sky with white
stars twinkling everywhere, all of it was visible to him.

“That one is Betelgeuse, one of the most brilliant stars you could see from our
homeland,” said Johan.

Even though the pitch-black hole was there, the dazzling light of the star wouldn’t ever
fade.

As they would approach Betelgeuse, that pitch-black hole would grow even bigger and
deeper. Finally, the train window turned as black as the galaxy itself. However, the stars shot out
beams of light, connecting to each other. In some time, Tomaso could see a geometric pattern in
these connections. He found out that they were actually something like artificial buildings.
Occasionally (about once a minute), a little flash would blink from the star’s surface. It really
looked like a camera flash. The blink would always occur on the star’s pitch-black surface.

At last, the train was about to arrive at the station. By the time he arrived, Tomaso finally
understood the whole picture. It was a giant factory complex in an industrial district of
Betelgeuse. It all looked like a ball of a rolled up wire, like a rugged building, only with a metal
frame sprawling on one side of that star. And only a flash of it could be confirmed, and that
identity wasn’t understood.

When they got out of the station, they entered a huge hole made of bare rebar. It was
similar to the station inside the complex, Tomaso thought. The station was becoming crowded;
many people showed up there. That star was very populated, both of them knew that more than
anything, so they weren’t surprised by the quantity, but by the way the people were clothed. They
were wearing white spacesuits. Attached to the spacesuit there was a spherical cover for the
head, and their napes had the same white fabric. Their faces were covered by a glass tinted in a
light shade of green. These weird folks started slowly wandering around the station, and the both
of them were shocked.

The only entrance/exit of the station was filled to the neck with several rows of people.
Both of the galactic adventurers were frightened by that line-up.

“Were they doing some kind of examination?” they thought.

To get out of that station they had to ask for the help of a guard nearby. When their
number finally came out the security guard glanced at them both through his green-glass helmet
and handed two green glasses to both of the galactic adventurers.

“DO NOT remove these glasses on this star under any circumstances. Don’t even think
about taking these glasses off. Understood?” The man said that bluntly. The glasses seemed
useless at first. “You’re good to go,” he said, scaring them away.

The pair did as they were taught, putting the glasses onto their faces and leaving the
station, almost as if they had been kicked out.

The glasses were thick at the edges, using a transparent plastic-like material. The lenses
were light-green when not in use, but when you put the glasses on, they are a very dark shade of
green. The glasses were fashioned very similarly to goggles.

Tomaso had not even a vague idea of why they should use those weird glasses. Johan,
too, had no idea of what that star was.

Outside the station, this narrow place and the factory together formed an industrial
complex, all organized in a row. When they looked deeply into the sky they felt it was too light.
Because of those “weird-ass” glasses they couldn’t really differentiate night from day. There
were little illuminated objects throughout the factory, which emitted a weak light every once in
awhile.

They would wander throughout the darkness of that factory without hesitation, if only
there was adequate illumination.

In that exact moment, an intense light shone throughout that neighborhood, only for a
moment. They closed their eyes because of that intense radiance and faced the reflective ground.
A few seconds later, the earth sounded and a growl accompanied it. Tomaso slowly opened his
eyes and watched for the sound. A tall factory was being hindered and neither knew why. People
didn’t really panic.

“There should be something good in this star,” Tomaso thought.

“The thunder should have fallen really close to us,” Johan said. Tomaso glanced the sky
and remembered that flash of light.
 Chapter Three
“Are there any answers beyond this endless night?”
Part Two

“We should try talking to someone,” said Johan, pointing in the direction of the factory.
Many people were transiting between the spaces of the factories. They were also using the
spacesuits.

The pair called out to someone standing in the crowd in the space between two buildings.
They started waiting next to an orange guiding rod, standing there to see if the traffic would
improve or if someone would help them get out of there. Without even shaking the stick, they
stood there. Occasionally they would kick pebbles at their feet, look at the sky, stretch… That
was their free time.

“Excuse me.”

Tomaso heard a voice approaching. Even though those green glasses were on his face, he
could recognize a person coming towards them. A cheerful, bronze-skinned, middle-aged man,
he was.

As soon as he saw them, he recognized them as travelers. That space-suit like clothing
was actually a protective clothing, and those who wore it were operators, and those who lived in
this star were actually operators of industries. Johan, regarding his thoughts of the strange things
that happened on this star asked,

“What are you producing in these factories?”

“We are producing this star’s ‘light’. This star produces light for Orion, and these people
living here make a living out of it.”

That old man looked really popular and loved, and seemed to like talking very much. He
said many things to that pair.
 “The glasses you guys are using are like sunglasses. Those helmets on the protective
clothing are just like the glasses in terms of their function. Because of the quantity of light
manipulated we use these glasses and helmets, just in case, you know?”

“Just in case?”

“If any of this light leaked out, our eyes would simply burn. It’s the worst way to die;
even being perforated for hours with needles would be less painful. You remember that light you
saw earlier? That’s one of the emergencies.”

They arrived to not even a trace of a conclusion about that, and faced each other as they
interrogated the other. Tomaso never guessed that the blinding light was an accident, and the fact
that he actually looked at the light was also an accident.

“People DIE because of that ‘light’?” Johan asked with a serious face.

“They do, in fact. People in this working site are becoming extinct, bit by bit.
Commoners like you, however, don’t die often. Those glasses don’t LET you people die.”

Just imagining people dying because of that blinking light horrified Tomaso. Johan also
said something while thinking and looking into the vacuum of space, but they knew the feeling
was mutual. Tomaso quickly wondered what would happen if they didn’t escape from that star.

The moment they started to thank the man and leave, Tomaso’s mind was dominated by a
question:

“We’re going to Polaris, can’t we go together?”

The man became surprised, and immediately his wrinkles became profound like an abyss
as he smiled.

“Although that’s a good idea, young man, I fear I cannot abandon my hometown, I have
family and friends here.”

After saying goodbye and thanking the man, they walked towards the station. Tomaso felt
uneasiness along with some complex emotion within him as he went to board the train. He had
stopped by this place for only a moment, and now was already leaving without learning about the
people, and the culture. Would he remain indifferent to those people’s deaths if he knew more?

And just thinking about the old man’s death made him shiver in fear. Even though there
was that deadly blinking light, he didn’t leave. What was his reason for that? All those people
had a terrible fate, and even so, the man called that damned place his “hometown”. He couldn’t
leave.

“I wouldn’t hesitate to leave my hometown,” Tomaso thought. Without saying anything,

he observed Johan’s hair blowing in the wind. Back at his birthplace, a seaside town, the wind
would blow without thinking, Tomaso recalled. Tomaso glanced at his left hand’s palm. The
Hypericum’s bud was growing.
 With the train’s high speed, they left Betelgeuse. The huge, empty hole in the universe
gradually became smaller, and the light inside of it continued to blink.

What lies at the end of the night? Tomaso wanted to know that.