After all the fear this doom had caused humanity, the crash was the true end of the earth. One that the planet had been building up to for a while. No, the event didn’t happen out of nowhere; the humans had predicted it for a while already. That’s why the bang wasn’t the only thing that had made the most remaining people go almost mad, if not completely. Luckily now, there aren’t too many people left to lose their minds. And as we all know, survival isn’t for the weak.

There wasn’t a lot to understand during the apocalypse, all they knew was that it was the eleventh of November, somewhere around the end of the 21st century.

Luna and Jack ran along the cracked streets of Vynegard. The new sun was warm, tropically warm. Oh, how they enjoyed the feeling of nature again. The sun rays felt just like a golden blanket falling over them. Only a day before, the children thought they would never be able to exit their home again, unimaginably cold as the outside world had been. But now they could. Although the air wasn’t as fresh as they had expected, it was such a relief. They were free. Free to laugh and run again. Free from boredom, finally they had the space to play. In fact, why not play right now, Luna asked herself. Hide and seek was too dangerous with the fire and collapsing buildings, but a game of tag couldn’t hurt if they were a bit careful. She knew her brother would rather explore, but she wouldn’t allow him.

“Jack, let’s…”

Luna stopped walking. Her brother wasn’t there. Had he gone exploring already?

“Lun!”, Jack’s scared voice called from the distance.

It was still a strange sight, no matter how long you stared at the little but towering high village. Or town, or what else it should be called.

Strange buzzing lights flickered along with the fire coming from what seemed to be car-like devices. Everything smelled like burnt low-quality synthetic wood, and there was a slight but oppressive sensation of pain or distress in the air, probably coming from a not too far distance. But other than that, there was no life to be sensed around. Perhaps there were humans further into this strange city?

What a cold atmosphere. Nausicaa shivered. She sat down on one of the few - concerning few - fallen logs and looked up at the starry night sky - one thing she, to her surprise, didn’t dream of anymore.

Nausicaa sighed and pulled out some things to eat and share. She gestured to her friends to sit. With the kind act of giving away her lunch, it was as if she shared small pieces of her own strength - her kindness and courage - in the form of edible energy.

The fallen logs were coincidentally placed around a pile of ashes that had burned recently. It was still warm. Warm enough to sit around during this cold day.