Seeing the Strange Without Moving

The two worlds are divided, their stars forever apart.

One person sits high upon the throne, trapped within layers upon layers of palace walls, alone in guarding this vast land.

The two worlds that survived are at peace, with clear seas and calm rivers.

Better than being separated by death is to live on, yet never meet again.

A faint song drifts over.

Who knows which wayfarer is voicing a lament for someone?

"...Year after year, flowers bloom and fall; season after season, the geese fly away and return..."

The melody circles endlessly in the throat.

Black hair turns white with frost, yet the one who left never returns.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.