The glass case displayed a piece of wood.
“This is the last exhibit in the museum.”
I see.
It all passed by so quickly.
This was the last exhibit, but it didn’t look very special.
I wondered if it was an artificial object.
It looked like as if a random tree branch had been picked up and put on display.
“What tree is it from?”
“It was from the Tree of Original Sin. It was the first weapon of humanity to used kill another human.”
“Is it genuine?”
“Of course. You can feel the history in it.”
The old wooden branch told me nothing.
I suddenly thought.
History.
I longed for history.
A desire for the past that could no longer be reached.
A desire that could never be satisfied.
Time did not move to the past.
It was the only ‘answer’ of this galaxy that not technology could achieve.
All things had a beginning.
All things had an end.
“Hey.”
“Yes. What may I do for you?”
“I have a request.”
“Anything you would like.”
“Don’t forget.”
“……? Do you mean not to forget you, guest?”
“No.”
No–that’s probably not right.
“This day. Everything up until now. Don’t forget it. Someday, if someone comes here again, I hope you will have something to tell them about.”
She answered with a proud smile on her face.
“Of course, that is my job.”
I left the museum.
The night on the desert planet was quiet and cold.
In the clear sky, hundreds of millions of stars twinkled.