Eirene Curious / First Blue Sky 

The underground shelter community Arca Caela: the last and largest of the cities built by humanity after the sun's disappearance drove them underground.

Here, there was no conflict. Those who remained joined forces and lived a modest lifestyle, believing that they would one day return to the surface.

The rules here were determined by the mayors who managed each city. They maintained the infrastructure and population. The mayors believed that loss of infrastructure or rapid fluctuations in population would lead to the cities' collapse, and thus they strictly controlled all kinds of resources, including the people.

Eirene Curious, a girl living in the 81st underground city "Solaris," was born into this world to maintain the population of Arca Caela. It would be approximately ten years before she reached the age to bear children.

Until the time came to fulfill her role, she spent the majority of her time in her own room. Even for an innocent child who followed all her mother's instructions, it was difficult to keep one person in a confined space, especially at that age when she was curious about everything she saw.

To prevent her from getting bored, her mother Maria gave her picture books from the older era.

Today, Maria read a picture book to Eirene as part of their daily routine. She lay in bed, listening carefully to her mother's gentle voice.

"Once upon a time, there was a girl.
The girl was all alone in the world.
But she never felt lonely,
because she had a wonderful power to go to distant planets any time.
The girl loved to travel around the stars,
so she was never lonely.
One day, the girl met a boy who was all alone.
The boy was crying.

Why are you crying? asked the girl.

The boy did not answer.
So the girl said to the boy,

Come travel around the stars with me!

Together, they began a journey around the stars."

Maria turned the page, and there was a wordless drawing of the two of them traveling to a planet. The next page, and the next after that, were just drawings too.

"Hey, Mom?"

"What is it?"

"What happens in the story?"

"Hmm, I wonder," Maria said, flipping over the pages.

No matter how far she turned, there were no words, and slowly the visuals of the kinds of planets they visited became vague, too. The only clear thing was that the two of them were holding hands. Then, Maria turned to the final page, where there was a drawing of the girl standing alone on the planet.

"What happened to the boy?"

"Hmm, I wonder..."

"Hmph!"

Eirene pouted back at her, irritated by her repeating the same words.

Maria lovingly stroked Eirene's head and said, "Well, Eirene, what kind of story would you want to tell?"

"Huh?"

Not expecting those words, Eirene kept blinking. "I can think of what happens next?"

"Yes. I want to hear what you would do."

This picture book was meant to exercise the reader's imagination. Until now, Maria had been reading her picture books about fixed subjects, but she thought it was a good time to go a step further, and got this picture book.

"I'll try it!"

With a gleam in her eyes, Eirene took the picture book from Maria. It was like she was already a picture book author. The little picture book author happily tapped her feet, lost in thought about unfamiliar worlds and what kind of story to tell.

"Heh. It's already lights-out time. You'll have to come up with it tomorrow."

"Okay!"

"Good night, Eirene."

"Good night!"

Eirene waved to Maria until she left the room, then pulled her blanket up to her shoulders. Wherever she looked on the dimly-lit ceiling and walls, pictures Eirene had drawn were placed there. Many of them were drawings of the sky. To Eirene, born in the underground city, "sky" meant a ceiling made of metal. The blue sky was nothing more than a fantasy depicted in records and picture books left in Arca Caela. This room, packed full of her dreams, was a place for ideals.

The next day, Eirene began to come up with the rest of the story. Just the introduction was described, so the course of the story was set to some extent: that the protagonist girl traveled around the stars and made a crying boy stop crying. Then, Eirene would have to think about what sort of planets would make the boy stop crying.

"What kinda planet should they go to?"

She wondered what was on the planets they went to. What was around them? Were there weird creatures? Where did people live? What did they eat? Just imagining it, so many thoughts came to mind. As she pondered those things, time passed in the blink of an eye. But Eirene wasn't troubled by it.

Her world was very small. Her room wasn't locked, but she did just as her beloved mother said. Even when she left her room for meals or baths, she was sure never to approach the places her mother told her not to go. Still, she couldn't completely suppress the curiosity that always bubbled within her. That was why this picture book her mother gave her gripped her heart and captivated her. By spreading her wings of thought, Eirene flew away to other worlds.

Eirene's creation of the planets was going well. A green planet, a desert planet, a water planet, a mechanical planet. She thought of as many as she could imagine. Next, she thought about the view of the sky on those planets. Morning, daytime, evening, and night. Sights different from her own steel sky unfolded there. Fairies, humans, and animals, big houses and an aurora, and so on. There could be things other than clouds floating in the air. To Eirene, who didn't know the reason the sky changed color, it held infinite possibilities.

"Ehehe, I came up with a ton."

Her dear mother might have lots of praise for her. Just as that thought occurred to her, Eirene realized she had gone astray from her original goal.

"Oh! I gotta think up the story!"

Once she was done creating the planets, next was the story.

"The boy was crying. If he cried...I would be sad, too."

The reason he was crying wasn't written in the book. Eirene opened the book to check again what point he cried up to.

"Oh..."

Every time she turned the page, the boy's tears got smaller, but on the final page, where he was no longer drawn, were the biggest tears yet.

"!"

She suddenly remembered the girl drawn on the last page. She was all alone on the planet. Looking at it again, her expression was hidden by her hair, so she couldn't really tell. She looked like she was smiling, but sad, too.

"Nnn..."

The emotion Eirene felt from the picture was sadness. The girl said it was fun to travel the stars. But after parting from the boy she traveled so many places with, was it still fun? Eirene felt uneasy as gloomy thoughts kept coming to mind.

What if she couldn't travel anymore? What if she couldn't meet anyone anymore? Even so, would the girl still be able to smile?

"Sniffle..."

Eirene cried, feeling like something was squeezing her heart tight. She wished the boy was at her side right then. She hugged the picture book in both arms, and headed for Maria's office.

"The ending was sad, so it made you cry?"

"...Yeah."

She seemed deeply moved by the picture book's story. Eirene nodded, still hanging her head. Perhaps she put herself in the girl's place and imagined being all alone. Maria didn't think Eirene would ignore her instructions and come to her office, but instead of scolding her, she was surprised by the girl exceeding her expectations. Maria's style of education, letting her come up with the story herself, had already borne fruit.

"..."

Maria calmly analyzed Eirene. Should she give her a helping hand, or let her think on her own a little longer?

After some deliberation, she said in a gentle voice, "The ending may have felt sad to you, Eirene. But the story wasn't sad all the time, was it?"

"...No."

"What parts made you feel that way?"

"When the boy stopped crying."

"Why is that?"

Eirene hadn't come up with the reason he was crying yet, so she said what popped into her mind.

"'Cause he got to see his mom and dad."

"The boy cried because he got separated from his parents. That's the reason?"

"Yeah."

"Then, why do you think the ending was sad?"

"...Because the girl ended up all alone."

"I see."

Maria closed her eyes and considered how Eirene arrived at that idea. There must have been innumerable great adventures unfolding within her. And so, when she parted with the boy, she must have felt overcome with loneliness.

"Heh. Eirene, cherish your ideas and feelings. Those feelings are very important."

"Cherish?"

Eirene tilted her head, not understanding what Maria was saying.

"Yes. The ending may have been sad to you. But you didn't think it was sad from start to finish. I want you to cherish the ideas you come up with yourself."

Along the way leading to the ending, there were all kinds of emotions other than sadness. Maria was saying not to treat them carelessly. And one other thing—she was pointing out that Eirene found something important within the story. It was a wish for the characters' happiness. Those feelings she expressed might one day nurture a heart that wished for the happiness of others.

"Those feelings can support you, Eirene. Remember that one thing."

"I don't really get it... But I'll cherish them!"

"Heh, you're a good kid."

Maria stroked Eirene's head. Just then, Eirene's face crinkled into a radiant smile.

"Oh, that's right."

Maria seemed to think of something, and addressed Eirene.

"Hey, Eirene."

"What is it?"

"What kind of story would happen next?"

"Next?"

"The story you just told me is something you came up with. So it's all up to you whether to end it or continue it. I'd love to hear what happens next."

"Oh..."

Those words struck Eirene's heart like a bolt from the blue. The story didn't depict everything. It was only a small piece cut out from the characters' view of the world.

"...Mom, you're amazing!"

Eirene's eyes twinkled with starlight, as if to say, I never thought of that!

"I'll try coming up with the next part!"

With that, Eirene was unable to contain herself, and quickly went back to her own room. On her way back, idea after idea popped into her head. Her mother's words had been a revelation.

When she returned to her room, she headed to the desk. She wanted to make the girl happy, too. Driven by her genuine feelings, Eirene immersed herself in creating the story. Sometimes, she worried. Sometimes, she suffered. Finally, Eirene completed the next installment of the story.

"The girl wasn't lonely anymore,
because she was traveling with the boy.
They didn't know where their new journey would go.
But it was okay,
because they both had things they wanted to do.
They would go anywhere together
to make everyone smile.

The End"

Eirene told Maria, who sat next to her bed, what happened after the end of the story she came up with.

"What do you think, Mom?"

"It's a wonderful story that conveyed your feelings and made me feel warm. You're good at this, my little picture book author."

"Ehehe..."

Eirene was delighted as her mother hugged her and patted her head. Then, she thought, I want to tell lots more stories. That was how she could repay her busy mother.

Then, the lights in the room dimmed a bit. The nighttime Maria set for Solaris had arrived. That meant their time together was over. But today was a little different.

Rustle.

Maria suddenly joined her in the bed.

"Mom, don't you have work?"

"I just really want to hear more of your stories, Eirene."

Her mother made a mischievous expression. Eirene found it a little funny and broke into a smile.

On the dimly lit ceiling and walls were Eirene's drawings of the blue sky. Maria looked at them fondly—and stopped on one drawing.

"Heh."

It was a drawing of Eirene and Maria, raising their hands and laughing under the blue sky.

"Hey, Eirene. Could you tell me what other kinds of planets there are?"

"Yeah! Umm, so, on this desert planet..."

Eirene talked merrily about the planets she came up with. As she listened to her beloved daughter speak excitedly, Maria made up her mind about something.

"Mom, what is it?"

"Oh, no, it's nothing."

No matter what, she would protect this child. Even if it meant changing this closed-off world.

A mother's wish for her child's happiness. In this world destined for a tragic end, that modest wish would spin a new story...