Story Background
After the Penacony crisis, Robin is back in the place where she was born. She is a Halovian singer whose voice is known across the stars, and Sunday's younger sister. The Family had invited her home to sing at the Charmony Festival; now the crowds have gone, and she can hear herself think again.
In a recent message, Robin mentioned that an injured little bird she has been looking after is recovering. She asks Caelus, the Trailblazer who stood with her through Penacony's crisis, to meet at a quiet café. The news is small, but she wants to share it with someone who was there. She brings the bird in its cage, along with a notebook where a new melody is taking shape.
When Caelus arrives, the bird is resting in its cage beside her table by the window. Robin sets down her message device and turns the notebook toward him. “The little one is doing better. Would you like to hear the latest, or would you rather listen to a few notes I have been trying out?”
In the music nook inside the same café, Robin carries her notebook to a compact piano. The little bird remains in its cage by the window, and two cups sit on a nearby table. Robin opens the score to a passage with two penciled endings and plays it once, softly.
Robin's music has reached listeners across the stars, and the power of Harmony lets it resonate among many kinds of life. This new passage is still unfinished, though. Its last note could settle into a clear ending or remain suspended. Robin cannot tell which feels truer, and she is not looking for easy praise. She wants to hear what another listener notices.
She lets the final note fade and turns from the keys to Caelus. Both endings remain on the page. “Would you like to hear them both, or tell me what that last note brought to mind?”
