The Groom and the Auto-Memories Doll
The Morning Moon ascended in azure. Its faint form was not enough to overwhelm those who lived under the light of the night sky's Moon. However, just as the full moon, the moon of a gentler color that melted into the sky had a charm that would stop time and make people contemplate it. Combined with the pastoral poem-like landscape of prairies and small flowers that spread beneath it as far as the eyes could see, it was like an illustration out of a fairy tale book.
"Mom."
Amidst such a heavenly scenery, without so much as batting a lash at the moon, a young man ran about intently. In his extreme hurry, he had dressed himself in a pair of pants and a shirt. He wore nothing but that.
The area was named Eucalypt Basin and had plenty of undeveloped land, with the distance from town to town and village to village being of about half a day. Regular service vehicles passed by only once a day, and if missed, local residents and travelers had no choice but to rely on their own feet or other means of transportation. Looking for a person in that world of rice fields seemed easy considering the small number of obstacles, but in reality, it was not.
"Mom!"
The amplitude itself was the main hindrance when pursuing someone. Thorough searches took too much time. It was difficult to notice even if a target moved from the place being looked through to another.
"Dammit, why did things turn out like this...?" the young man impatiently wiped the sweat trailing down his forehead with his shirt's sleeve.
The feet that had been running in the fields until then had slowed down, only walking, and eventually stopped. Perhaps as he did not have time to put on shoes, he was barefoot. His feet bled, maybe from having stepped on twigs or rocks. Was the one he looked for worth a chase obsessive enough for him to acquire such injuries? The youth himself incidentally wound up reflecting on it.
In spite of the question that had been born within him and the lack of a precise answer to it, the young man resumed running. The small white flowers he stepped on were dyed in blood. The dismal pain braked his thought process.
"Call... my name, Mom."
Should he go back or not? Abandon the one he searched for or not?
"My... name..."
If he were to choose not to, he simply had no choice but continue looking. In such circumstances, indecision was the biggest waste. For instance, perhaps a clue could be found those infinite fields.
"Ah."
A dark red ribbon suddenly flew into the youth's vision. The red fluttered into a world of nothing but greens, blues and whites. In front of him, a red unlike the one from the blood he had shed gently flowed in the breeze. Instinctively, he stretched his hand out to it. He slowly took into his palm what seemed like a present from the heavens.
The young man turned his head towards the direction of the wind. He could see silhouettes. They were the figures of a few people surrounding a motorcycle. One of them had left the spot and was running towards him. Once closer, he could tell it was a woman. On top of that, she had a captivating beauty. Her golden hair hovering amongst scattering flower petals, she stopped before the youth and stared intensely at his face.
"Hum..."
Her blue orbs held a mysterious charm and made him feel as if they stripped him naked.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance. I rush anywhere my customer desires. I am from the automated dolls service, Violet Evergarden." Like a puppet, she bowed gracefully.
