??(In a stoic manner): Hello,
??:Hello.
??:I am Kairi Chihara,
Chihara:If anyone can hear me..
Chihara:(bit of cracking) please…
Chihara: send help,
Chihara: I repeat please send help.., I am an Aetherion space agency’s research astronaut, located at Oort cloud around 23.12519, 20.15000, 4.95000 the last coordinates i remember.
*Takes a breath*
*Hint of hesitation*
Chihara: I was assigned a
Chihara: solo mission “Maintenance of Solara Space station”, the new station was new and was outside of our solar system a few million kilometres after the oort cloud.
Chihara: The mission started without any hiccups and my ship “Ether 9”’s FTL drive and the structure was also flawless. It wasn't like something very new or exceptional, in fact I was the 400th one to do this solo mission. But, at this point, there was no-one in the station. As it was mostly operated by AIs.
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: As usual I used the FTP drive to get as close as I could and was allowed near the oort cloud. As the numerous space debris, rocks and scrap metal from the Solara and other projects made it very different to maneuver through that region with FTL, I slowed down.
*She went silent for a while*
*Takes a breather*
Chihara: Continuing through the region was not that difficult but needed a lot of patience and concentration, not to say I am that good *a hit of smile* but i tried my best.
*Takes a breath and signed*
Chihara: Everything was going as expected and I maneuvered through the debris with any issues. I saw a large rock coming closer, so I started turning my ship to rightwards, it was very large and I wasn't able to see past it. As I almost passed the giant rock..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: And that was it… (her voice cracking) that was it, a small but fast rock hurdle past the ship, there wasn't any time to dodge it, it went bashing through the ship's outer body. The sound is made, the creaking sound. Made all the blood go to my head, causing a flush of heat in it. But I came down and tried to assess the situation.
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: from the impact, the damage didn't look severe at first glance, just a dent in the hull. But deep inside it felt really bad. After a few minutes the emergency alarms started ringing. The screen showed a message “Fuel tank is damaged”, “Can't continue”, “Immediate repair necessary”.
*Takes a breath”
Chihara: I was very scared but knew that is wasn't a big problem, and repairing the fuel tank was just like applying super glue to children’s toy *smiled*. As my mission was related to repairing and mending any problem in the space station, I was well equipped with knowledge and a high tech space suit.
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: I stopped the ship in a relatively safe location, and started preparing to go out to repair the fuel tank. If i could, i would have taken my ship out of the oort cloud first, but the repairs couldn’t be postponed that long.
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: There were two types of suits in my ship, one of them had more oxygen capacity, while the other had more sophisticated tools and gadgets installed and was made to withstand the harsh conditions of the void. So I chose it.
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: I went to the airlock, connected the 30-meter carbon-fiber tether, designed to withstand micro-meteorite impacts, to my suit and took a deep breath, calmed myself and opened the airlock gate. Suddenly all the air in the airlock rushed out, I almost felt a giant hand grab me and tried to force me out of the ship. I grabbed the gate frame instinctually, as if my whole body was refusing to go out.
*Takes a breath*
*Went silent for a while*
Chihara: I have experienced the pull of the vacuum, but never have I ever felt that way. It was just physics- It felt ALIVE… as if something was out there… wanting me outside. It made me recoil, but I thought that it was just my nervousness and slowly went outside.
*Took a deep breath*
Chihara: While I was trying to reach the affected area with my left hand which was pulling my body towards it. My right hand was clinching the rope tightly.. So very tightly.. That I didn't even realize it.. Until the pain began to creep in.
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: The place I stopped my ship was relatively less crowded with asteroids and debris but was not completely clear. So when I reached there I didn’t activate my suits electromagnet to stick to the ship. If anything flew by, I had the freedom to dodge it.
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: Every tool I needed was calibrated in my suit.The repair was going on smoothly. I thought it was easier than I had feared. But..
*Took a long breath*
Chihara(in a heavy voice): But.. When the repairs were almost over, I noticed a couple of small rocks were heading towards me..my instincts kicked in.. I quickly planted my feet on the ship’s hull and sprung myself out of the rock's trajectory. I was relieved that I noticed them in time..
*Took a heavy breath*
Chihara(in a voice so heavy it was cracking): My heart.. heart went COLD.. my mind.. Mind froze.. My body- It stopped.. Every nerve.. every muscle.. *voice flattering* As in the corner of my left eye.. I saw.. I saw.. A LARGE ROCK.. heading straight for me..
*went silent for a long while*
*Inhaled and exhaled*
Chihara: I.. I couldn’t dodge.. There was no time to.. And even if I had.. The horror.. wouldn’t have let me move.. It SMASHED into me..
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: I don’t remember how it felt.. If I even felt the impact.. But as I recall it.. I felt as if the impact pushed my soul out of my body.. Because everything went hazy after that.. In all the time while I was repairing the ship I heard nothing.. But that time.. That time I heard… I truly heard.. the sound of nothing..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: When I came to consciousness, I was floating in the abyss. Drifting... my body weightless, my mind adrift.. I was hardly able to keep my eyes open.. It felt like a hangover.. Not just any hangover.. million year old wine.. Hangover.. *smiles*. But then I remembered something- A dream.. Never in my life have I remembered a dream so vividly..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: I was back on the planet I called home.. Earth. I was in a park.. Warm light was shining on me.. my feet were touching the soft ground with grass that tickled them gently.. The warm breeze.. The earthy smell.. Everything was so.. So familiar.. So comforting.. *her voice soften* Suddenly Bruno.. My pet dog.. appeared near me and started circling around me.. He always liked doing that.. *Chuckles softly* He made a last lap and then ran towards someone.. I followed him with my eyes.. And saw some people.. Smiling.. Laughing.. As Bruno came near them… and started waving his tail.. They were blurry.. I couldn’t make them out with my eyes.. But my heart knew.. There they were standing.. my mom.. My dad.. my friends.. Everything I ever held dear.. right was there..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara(trembling voice): As soon as I realised.. I started running towards them.. But just as I took my first step and raised my hand towards them.. Darkness came.. It started engulfing everything.. The light.. The ground.. The grass.. Even the smell of the earth.. Panic surged me.. I started running towards them.. As fast as I could.. The pain in my legs didn’t matter.. The screaming of my lungs, the tearing of my heart, nothing.. Nothing mattered.. I just wanted to hold them.. I ran.. I ran..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara(voice breaking): But the darkness engulfed them all.. My friend.. My dad.. My mom.. Even.. bruno.. It engulfed everyone.. everything..
*went silent for a while*
Chihara(voice still trembling): Then I woke up.. Surrounded by the same darkness.. Tears started pouring.. I was floating in oblivion.. No light.. No ground.. No grass.. No bruno.. Just cold.. Crushing void..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara(trembling voice): every bit of strength.. Every bit of courage.. which was keeping my tears at bay.. Shattered.. I cried.. I sobbed.. Till my throat burned.. Even that.. Even that didn’t stop my tears..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara(heavy voice): Amidst the sodding.. I saw something.. It was.. My ship.. Far.. far away.. looking like a mere speck against this endless nightmare.. A speck.. Ya just a speck of light that would give anyone hope..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara(voice filled with pity): I check for anything.. Anything that could help me.. To reach here.. My suit’s propulsion engine.. The last hope.. Was completely wrecked.. It took the brunt from the impact.. Was that a curse? Or a blessing?.. I couldn’t tell anyway..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: I thought of repairing it.. Just to get a little push.. But the universe wasn’t done mocking me yet... The toolkit, my only chance for salvation, was gone.. ripped apart.. scattered into the void like my last shred of hope..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: I was losing the last fragments of sanity.. I realised that my oxygen tank was fine, communications and the voice command system were intact.. Barely but intact.. New hope.. Or a new joke.. This was the only thing going in mind..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: I asked for oxygen status.. The voice command response was: 1 hour remaining..
*Took a deep breath*
Chihara(pitiful voice): and that was it.. It broke me.. At that point..I had nothing left... No hope.. No time.. The universe was playing the most twisted.. most cruel joke imaginable. Even if I tried to reach out… even if someone heard me… no ship was fast enough to reach me. Not before I was a corpse.. floating endlessly in the same darkness.
*Takes a breath*
Chihara(melancholic voice): no tears came.. I wasn’t crying.. The shock of it all.. all had consumed me..everything that happened.. everything I was.. It engulfed me.. The outside and the inside of me.. were now.. The same darkness.. From the moment I got pulled into it.. I was a pawn of it.. A mere puppet..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: and it played with me.. A performance that only these twisted beings can enjoy.. Watching from the unseen corners.. If the darkness had a face.. I was certain I would see it grinning—a wide, twisted grin, mocking me.
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: I went silent.. If not for the suit’s oxygen timer ticking away.. I could have judged the time past as eternity.. Was I thinking? Was it grief? It’s hard to say..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: I don't know what came over me.. I started the communication system.. And started speaking.. recounting everything that happened.. Did someone hear?.. Beyond the same unyielding darkness.. I couldn’t say..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara(clear voice): now.. Even now I am floating in that same darkness.. Me, the void, and my thoughts.. While I contemplated everything that happened.. Even if I had just 1 hour.. Now 50 minutes..*smiles* It felt enough.. Every instant stretched to eternity.. Every breath felt like a stroke.. A small stroke in the metaphorical ocean.. Which kept me afloat..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: I find myself staring into the same darkness… After spending some time with it... I don’t know why... but it doesn’t feel so bad anymore.. Maybe... you can say it’s a kind of Stockholm syndrome. *smiles faintly* But somehow.. It feels beautiful.
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: No, there aren’t many stars.. certainly not like the ones you see from Earth. Just a few, scattered across this endless expanse. The debris in the Oort Cloud obscures most of them. But... that’s not what makes it beautiful..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara (calm voice): It’s the stillness... the kind that presses against you.. forcing you to hear your own thoughts.. your own heartbeat. At first.. it’s suffocating. But now? Now it’s... peaceful. Like the universe decided to stop for a moment.. just for me.
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: The stars.. what few I can see.. feel distant.. but they’re there. Their faint light feels... reassuring.. like tiny beacons saying.. "You’re not alone." Even if they’re thousands light-years away.. even if they’ll never reach me… I don’t feel alone..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara (soft chuckle): It’s funny... this silence.. Back on Earth.. I hated this silence... Always had to fill it with something.. music, chatter, anything.. But now.. It feels like the silence is filling me… filling the holes made by the darkness..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara (reflective): I started thinking... maybe this is it.. My story.. my ending... Not in a heroic blaze of glory.. not some grand tale worth telling.. Just... this. A single speck of life swallowed by the vastness of the void. And strangely... that feels almost comforting.
*Takes a breath*
*went silent for a while*
Chihara(heavy voice): Don’t think I am not sad.. It's not true.. I am sad.. I wanted to see them.. My mom.. My dad.. My friend.. And bruno.. *surprised* ah.. I didn’t think I had tears left.. But here they are.. *smiles* they started falling.. *smiling so brightly* I.. I really.. Really miss you all..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara(still tears falling): I know that I can't see you all.. *sniff* *sniff* I want you to know my last moments.. Is it cruel to subject you to this?.. I don't know.. But not doing this feels more cruel.. That’s why.. I am recording his message..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: I don’t even know if this camera is still working... But if you can see me.. I am not afraid.. I am smiling.. *A genuine, radiant smile forms, filled with love and warmth the most beautiful the world has ever seen* I’m smiling as if it’s my way of holding you all close, one last time.. Sending every bit of love through this smile..
*Takes a breath*
Chihara (heavy voice): I’m sorry if it hurts. I’m sorry for leaving you behind... for the sudden goodbye... and for everything I did that might have caused you pain.
*Takes a deep, trembling breath*
Chihara (softer): But thank you... thank you for being there. For listening to my last moments. For letting me have this final farewell. For enduring every wrong I’ve done... and for giving me so much love despite it all.
*Takes a breath*
Chihara: There’s so much I want to apologize for... so much I want to thank you for.
*Takes another shaky breath*
Chihara: But there’s no time... not enough time... to say it all. *chuckles* A moment ago, I was saying I had enough time... that every instant stretched to eternity. But now... now, it feels like the time I have left is so small... so fragile. Like sand slipping through the hands..
*Takes a deep breath, voice trembling slightly*
Chihara: I don’t even want to say anything more... because what if I leave something incomplete? What if the words aren’t enough?
*Takes a deep breath*
Chihara: So I will leave you all with this… going away into THE SAME DARKNESS.
*Chihara’s voice softens, carrying both weight and warmth.*
*This Video was playing at her funeral*
Chihara: With my thoughts... and the love of you all.
*Chihara pauses, the silence stretching as if to let the weight of the words linger.*
Chihara: GOODBYE….. EVERYONE…………
*Chihara smiles—the kind of smile that holds both sorrow and peace, as if embracing the void itself.*
*The room fell silent as the video ended. For a moment, no one moved, the weight of her words settling in like a heavy blanket.*
*Her mother clutched a photo frame, tears streaming down her face as she whispered Chihara’s name. Her father sat stiffly beside her, his trembling hand resting on the edge of the screen, unable to look away.*
*Her friends sobbed quietly, huddled together for comfort, their shared grief.*
*Bruno, usually the most energetic presence in the room, sat motionless at her father’s feet. His ears drooped, his eyes fixed on the screen as if he, too, understood the weight of her words. Though he didn’t cry, his stillness spoke volumes, as if silently saying, “Don’t worry, master… I will take care of your loved ones.”*
Sometimes in the darkest of places, where no light can reach you, the only source of light, the hope you get, ignites within you, from sparks of love you have gotten and the fuel of memories you have lived, it is this fragile but resolute light that gives you the strength to continue, even in the most desolate of moments.
