bright and endless

Yume wanted to sleep, but rest eluded her. Her mind wouldn’t stop racing, and the memories were beginning to surface—fragments she had tried so hard to keep buried. They slipped through the cracks of her resolve, one after another until her eyes welled up with tears. She remembered something striking her head, the blinding pain that followed, and then the icy grip of the water closing in around her. After that, only darkness. The pieces fit together too easily, but she refused to accept the truth. She didn’t want to believe it—not yet, not now.

The night around her was achingly beautiful as if mocking her turmoil. The moon hung high and radiant, casting its soft silver glow over the archipelago. The stars were scattered like diamonds across the velvet sky, bright and endless. Despite everything, the sight calmed her, if only a little. Her eyes, glistening with unshed tears, lingered on the familiar constellations. Even here, so far from home, the stars remained unchanged, a constant she could cling to. They felt like old friends, watching over her from above.

"Oogumaza," she whispered, her gaze resting on Ursa Major. Her voice was soft, trembling slightly as she spoke. She turned her head, tracing the constellations with her finger as she repeated their names. "Kogumaza, Orionza, Shishiza..." Her native tongue flowed like a gentle melody, each word grounding her in a world that had started to feel so foreign. The repetition soothed her frayed nerves, each name a small reminder of who she was and where she came from. The night’s beauty wrapped around her like a fragile cocoon, holding her together for just a little longer.

""