It’s probably not true, but my grandmother supposedly came from the moon.
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The year was finally nearing its end.
Tonight is the eleventh full moon. After one more month, this year will die away as time embraces the new year, one that offers no promises.
There was even less guarantee for us than the translucent jellyfish that we would survive to see it.
For the humanity of today, days and months are simply things that are lost. The word “death” is a part of everything here. From what I hear, the people of times long past used to hold a more positive view of things. The calendar was not something that inexorably consumed time, but rather was a cyclical symbol, treated as something that comes back around, or something like that.
To put it simply, it came down to data re-use. They took recycling too far. They say that humanity was once gluttonous and greedy, but from our perspective they were incredibly stingy.
By the Gregorian calendar, it’s probably around the year 3000 AD right now.
Humanity as it once was has long since ended. There is no longer any guarantee that the sun will continue to come up, but on the other hand no one fights anymore. However, the civilization that humanity spent thousands of years developing has all but drifted away into the air. I offhandedly ignored several dozen marriage proposals, and today, as with yesterday and the days before, I spent my time gazing at the coastline from the high ground of the island.
Water in the sky, sky in the water. In the sky of the moon is a shattered sea.
As I watched the glimmering sea, I unconsciously blurted out part of a song I learned from my grandmother.
More accurately, the song actually came from my great-great grandmother, and while I understand the words themselves, I’ve never understood their meaning. I don’t like speaking ill of my ancestors, but I get the impression that she may have been a little too girlish. These are times when you can taste the end of the world, and yet she seemed to have been a person who lived in dreams.
My mother and grandmother and her mother all shared the same tastes, and likewise, were all stunningly beautiful. Unfortunately I turned out to be a bit of an ugly duckling. I’m not as beautiful as my mother, and more importantly, I didn’t inherit her girlishness. The only reason that I keep getting marriage proposals is probably because of this island.
“Oh? I guess Arishima’s prince is returning home.”
I felt the wind as I looked up towards the sky just in time to see a jet black airplane flying by.
Gaww, sounded the sturdy engine.
One of the last traces of civilization, it cut off the moonlight as it floated away. Or perhaps it’s already merely a remnant. Its dull steel frame shone as it headed into the eastern sky.
With that, the kill count had reached sixteen.
And a new record this time, too. I had forced upon him an even more impossible task than usual, and the suitor had turned tail before even a day had passed. It was so unprecedented that the island even scolded me, but I couldn’t help it today. It was his fault for coming on a full moon. He should realize that everything has a time and place. I know the oxygen is thinning, but if you’re going to talk about love, then at least understand that much.
The island I live on is a small colony of less than fifty people. The land that holds a city lies far across the sea. There is no port here, and on the beach is a coral reef unique to this crescent-shaped island. For the people living on the island, the coral reef is a part of everyday life, but for the people of the city, it’s apparently more valuable than jewels.
Since around my grandmother’s time, this island has been treated as sacred ground. It is absolutely forbidden to enter by sea, so only the privileged who own an aircraft are able to come. The reason I’m called “princess” by the people of the city is also due to how special the island is. They say it is the star of hope for the restoration of humanity. For us living here though, it’s completely ordinary. We probably wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow when the end does eventually come.
“That’s too bad, though. Even if you could travel beyond the sky, you’d never be able to find a fish on the Moon.”
Every time a suitor arrives, I task him with something impossible.
This time it was to retrieve a fish from the Moon.
Going to the moon is a one way journey. While there still remains the means to get to the moon, no one knows how to return. Simply going there is certainly possible, but you could never return. It is essentially a world of death that we can only gaze upon while we’re still alive.
And as harsh as it was to tell him go to there, to then further ask for a fish, something that would obviously not exist on the moon, certainly explains why Arishima’s prince departed in an angry huff.
But this I swear—I was perfectly serious.
If he could complete an impossible task, I would stay by him my entire life.
Because, that’s the only way for me to measure love. Many things have been lost from this planet, but the most important of them all was probably the love people had for each other.
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It has been many long years since the moon became a world of death.
Though, technically it was a world of death for humanity to begin with, so perhaps it’s more appropriate to say that it returned to normal.
The Lunar Immigration Plan was one of the strategies they came up with to deal with humanity’s overpopulation crisis. The moon became a new frontier, and its immigrants created a city, a nation upon the lunar surface.
But then a great disaster struck. The pole shift was also cataclysmic, but the unpredicted calamity that befell humanity was even more critical, and marked the species’ end credit roll.
How can I put it?
Humanity all of a sudden lost its fire.
Its enthusiasm towards expanding, its excitement for invention, its passion for propagation.
And it wasn’t at the same level as a mother complaining about her son locking himself away in his room all day, but rather on the scale of the entire species suddenly declaring, “Everything is far too troublesome.” Those on this side simply pushed civilization onto the hands of those on the other side.
Civilization is not a necessity to live on Earth.
But it is a necessity to live on the Moon.
And so the people of the Earth told them,
“The task of advancing humanity as a species now rests on your shoulders. Honestly, we’re tired of it.”
And like that, they left everything to the Moon.
Following that, it only took 50 years for the Earth and Moon to become entirely independent of each other. Humans on both sides decided there was nothing left to negotiate, and sealed their doors to each other. We were able to make do with what we were left with on Earth, and those on the Moon were able to secure their living conditions in their environment.
The light of the moon disappeared some decades later, apparently.
At the same time, humanity’s population on Earth also dramatically declined.
After all, no one felt like propagating the species anymore. Left alone, humanity would have become extinct after fifty years. The only reason why it still survives is because about one in ten people still harbor the will to “keep trying.”
People who had their hands full already, but still had the devotion and diligence to care about others. It was those people who got together and created something that was like the old gathering places—a garden for life called a “city”. I’ve never been there myself so that’s all I can say about it.
They called themselves the Committee for Restoring Humanity. A movement for returning to the basics of life, with love as their fundamental principle.
I honestly don’t understand it. It’s not that I find what they’re doing distasteful or anything, but the concept of two people loving one another is something I cannot fathom. Does it actually feel good? I can only imagine it leading to failure. I think a more systematic method of supporting one another would be better. You could be both comfortable and selfish, and have a clear objective. You can’t even see someone else’s heart, so I feel that trying to comprehend it isn’t even remotely realistic.
Just like this. The reason I impose an impossible task on every one of my suitors is because I can’t measure my own love, so I have him measure it. If he can retrieve something much more valuable than me, and still be willing to exchange it for me, then I’d consider that proof that he needs me.
I like them, and I like humans, but I don’t understand love. Even so, I’m still happy. As long as there’s sun and water and air, we’re able to live our lives. I suppose things like this are why humanity is coming to an end. I do feel a pang of guilt over it every now and then.
The stars twinkle, the sea ripples. The coral sings for man’s love.
Like jellyfish, we live day by day, floating, ephemeral.
I spun as I walked, singing in the dark field.
“Well now! Relating life to a jellyfish? How powerful.”
A voice cut through my solitude.
A man’s voice, wrapped in a film I couldn’t see.
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“Excuse me, would you be Ms. ?”
As I turned around upon hearing my name, something strange floated in front of me.
It looked like a tin-plated vehicle about the size of a lunch bag, shaped like one of those sashimi boats.
On it rode a person also seemingly made of tin. The surface of his figure was as polished as a kettle, completely smooth all over. There were two clear sight holes around where his face would be, but because of the moonlight reflecting off it, I couldn’t see inside.
In any case, he addressed me by name, so I was obligated to reply.
“Good evening. I suppose I should say, ‘A pleasure to meet you’?”
“The pleasure is all mine. Please accept my card.”
The tin man pulled out a small piece of paper. I didn’t know what it was for, but since he politely offered it, I respectfully took it.
“Did you come from outside the island?”
“Yes, I came to meet you. If it’s not too much of a bother, may I speak with you for a bit?”
My eyes opened wide in surprise. As rude as it was to blink in amazement at him, I couldn’t help it. A new suitor? How rare. Many people had come here to propose to me, but this was the first time I’d met one who was small enough to sit on my palm.
“Ah, I’m actually a deliveryman by profession. I came to this island half because of work, half due to personal curiosity.”
That tin suit was probably the reason why his voice sounded like it was coated in something.
A lightly floating small boat, and a guest in dressed in something I’d never seen before.
Unable to restrain my curiosity, I found myself immersed in observing him rather than holding a conversation.
The tin man didn’t seem to mind, and began telling me about the current time, generation, climate, and other such things. It seemed to be idle chatter. Needless to say, my responses were absentminded at best. The conversation never took off.
Eventually he ran out of things to say. He seemed to be a bit troubled. Embarrassed by my selfishness, I offered a topic of conversation.
“You mentioned earlier that you came here half out of curiosity?”
“Yes. I am also a merchant. The other reason I came here is because of you. I would like to exchange something I have for something you have. What do you think?”
He said he had come to stock up on something he needed. This time it was my turn to be rather troubled. The reason being, a guest this rare would certainly not find anything he’d want on this island.
“You’d have better luck asking someone else. I don’t have anything that important.”
“On the contrary, merchants fundamentally purchase what is lacking. I have many things that are lacking here. And the opposite holds true, too. Do you know any stories? Perhaps one that hasn’t been heard anywhere else, and has never been published?”
Once again, without any particular reason I stared intently at the tin man.
Perhaps it was because he had made such a child-like request, despite having the composure of an adult. His words struck the depths of my heart. Normally I would make light of a request like this, but this time I felt compelled to help him.
“I do have one thing—a song you may want. It’s a story I learned from my grandmother, if that’s good enough?”
“An oral tradition? That is certainly of value. I do apologize, but I cannot clearly hear everything you say, so if I may trouble you further, could I ask that you write it down for me?”
The tin man apparently couldn’t hear me very well. I was a bit taken aback at how we’d managed to hold a conversation thus far if that were the case, but upon thinking it over, I realized that we hadn’t actually spoken that much.
“I can’t. I’m unable to read or write.”
“Indeed, I’m aware of that. I will be leaving on the next full moon, so I would ask that you put it into a book by then. At the risk of sounding presumptuous, I shall take it upon myself to teach you.”
He thumped his chest with his fist, as if to say, “Leave it to me!” It didn’t raise my confidence a single bit. My lack of studying had only now come back to curse me. Humanity had long since ended, yet my life was still full of trouble.
We’ll leave that aside for now, though.
“By the way, you said that jellyfish are powerful. Why?”
I asked him my first question.
“This happened quite a long time ago, but a relative of the jellyfish managed to solve the fundamental biological problem of aging through cell death. It is one of the few life forms that has managed to attain immortality. As such, jellyfish are, contrary to what you may expect, quite a robust life form.”
Unsurprisingly, he responded politely with complicated words I didn’t understand.