2026.03.31
cut9 Countless Doors
The maintenance robots moved on, unchanged,
almost breathless in their calm.
Eve had believed their labor
was only to preserve this place.
Yet beyond the corridor, where countless doors
stood in a line, she began to wonder—
was it not the living quarters they protected,
but the doors themselves?
In this sector, Eve had never seen a door open.
Though the robots worked without pause,
not once had she witnessed it.
Then she noticed one door among them—
its light was different.
Eve drew near.
For a single instant, the robots stirred with sudden force.
Then, after a brief stillness,
they returned to their familiar motions.
Something is here, Eve thought.
And within her rose an urge she could not quiet—
the need to see what waited inside.
Eve had meant to live here in peace.
But now, she could no longer hold back
the expectation gathering within her.
A light she had thought asleep
deep in her chest began to tremble,
called by no one.
Eve stood before the door.
Afraid that peace might be lost,
and still, she reached out her hand.
It was something
her own will could not withstand.
