A Wish
That made seven.
In the dream, I stood in the same place as I had that day.
On NOA's brightest night, the crowd waited for blossoms of light to bloom overhead.
...Does it?
I haven't thought about time that way in years.
...Though looking back, perhaps it has.
Have you thought of a wish?
A wish?
Hmph. You think I have one?
Haha, I also made one.
...With you... together...
...Wishes don't come true.
If they did... I would have...
Good evening, dear citizens.
On behalf of the Observation Council Polaris, I welcome you to today's New Year's festival.
Oh, looks like it's about to start!
We will soon begin the countdown for the launch of the Saturn V rocket.
Please join us in wishing for a happy new year as the rocket soars into space.
...Here in NOA, it is customary to make a wish upon the rocket's flames.
To anyone with a wish they want to see come true, we hope you don't miss this chance.
Five... four... three...
Everyone gathered to see the rocket began counting down together.
As did the Captain.
Two... one!
Ignition!
May she make it through the Journey safely.
And may she achieve her dream.
...
My dream. What I wished for.
I gazed at the sky, nostalgic... yet beautiful.
Once, I had looked up at a sky just like this.
In the past... Someone once made a wish.
Just like you, she looked up to the sky and wished with all her heart.
She wished to walk by someone's side. In any form, as long as they could be together.
Did her wish come true?
...No. It didn't.
It's been so long since then... and still, it hasn't.
...
...Would it have been different if she'd spoken it aloud?
Or perhaps it was simply a wish that could never come true.
Maybe it still can.
Maybe it just hasn't come true yet.
...
Yes.
Perhaps... someday it will.
...But that wish no longer matters.
There's something I must do before I can think of fulfilling it.
It won't be too late... after that.
Beneath lights that stood in for stars, I made a wish no one else could hear.
A different wish, made by a me different from the girl I'd been.
...May the Captain suffer no more.
May the Captain return safely to his home.