Hello, New World

The girl looked up to the unknown sky.

To the boundless azure, to the shapeless clouds, to the countless stars beyond the window she reached out with her hand. A blue-tinted light shone upon her, revealing the orange gloves that was wrapping her hands. An inconvenience, she thought, but one that she must endure. She was more upset with the clunky helmet; a ball of cloth with a single glass panel, it was of delicate construction yet lacked any delicacy that she was so used to. No matter, she thought to herself, as she can ditch it as soon as this arduous journey ends, when her ship finally reaches her harbour.

Her ship. The small, cramped metal hut she was stuffed in. In front of her was a table, embedded with a myriad of lights; red, yellow, green and blue, they flashed furiously, like some sort of fairy in a frenzy. How long do I have to wait? She said to herself, impatiently tapping the table, waiting for the door next to the it to open. The fairy, seemingly unfazed by her disrespectful display, gave no reply.

The door slammed open. With great difficulty, the girl climbed out of her seat, and silently disembarked. Feeling weak, probably due to the tiring journey, she took a deep breath before reviewing her surroundings. Surrounding her was a grassland, spanning towards the horizon; beneath it, a white cliff illuminated by a blue-tinted light; and brushing it, calm waves that brought with them the taste of the ocean. The scenery should have been familiar to her; after all, she was also brought up on a seashore grassland that was blessed with beautiful white cliffs.

But it wasn’t.

The ocean was green, unlike her homeland’s. The white cliff, while similar to the ones she was familiar with, was flanked by some translucent crystal. The grass was blue, dotted with luminescent flowers that she had never seen before. Blue…?

It was at that moment she realised the true nature of the blue-tinted light. She looked up behind her ship. An azure moon hung high over in the starry sky, its light embracing girl who found the sight unnerving. With such intensity, the moonlight seemed to threaten the shadows the girl casted. She did not want that to happen; without her shadows, she, who abandoned --- or was abandoned by --- her homeland and her family, would be alone in this brave new world.

“I’ve arrived, mother”, she murmured. This is the promised land. Her journey is finally over.

Suddenly a flurry of noise came from afar, and three metal-birds emerged from the veil of the night. Each metal-bird casted a beam of pure white light at the girl and began circling the ship. On them were people. People with strange outfits. People pointing an unknown device at her. People who were shouting, whose faces were filled with anxiousness, excitement, and most importantly, joy. They were waving at her, greeting her with great enthusiasm.

She decided to return the favour.

Freeing herself from the helmet, she walked towards the metal-birds, which seemed to be stunned by her appearance. The white rays grazed her short, silver hair, bouncing off in a million colours, as if it split into a rainbow. Her facial features were decidedly gentle, like the moon shining so serenely above her. Her eyes, however, were unapologetically crimson, gazing at the metal-birds with a burning passion. Unbalanced. Unusual. But captivating.

With a gentle smile, she started to speak, her hands extending as if she was trying to grab a non-existent dress. It was a greeting. A greeting filled with anxiousness, excitement, and most importantly, joy. To the new world she found herself in she said:

“Hello, New World.”