Les Petites Histoires Mignonverse: The Planet Squeaktopia

(Ch53) 35 - Mignonverse World Histoire Thirty Five - Squeaktopia

For Luke Gerbils

Lapin Mignon took back the reins of the Mignonship.

Her hand brushed along the cracked ceramic console and she smiled. The ship was still standing, a patchwork miracle made of paper, cardboard and dreams. Nine original rockets from the Genesis flight had merged into one colossal, clunky vessel, low-tech, slow art.

And yet it had carried them farther than anything built from logic or steel ever could.
The hum of the engines was softer now. Most of the original crew had found their homeworlds, their peaceful corners of the Mignonverse. Their laughter still floated through the corridors like ghost lights, traces of joy that refused to fade.
Then came a faint scratching on the door, tiny, rhythmic, familiar.
Lapin turned, and there he was: Luke the Gerbil, master of squeaks, surrounded by his little crew. They peeked left and right, noses twitching in suspicion.
She laughed. “No cats left on board, my friends, they’ve all found their own Mignon planets by now.”
At once the gerbils relaxed, their fur puffing with relief.
And then, almost on cue, they began to squeak, softly at first, then louder, until the whole ship trembled with their song.
It echoed through the air, a shimmering, playful sound, and down below, a planet began to glow into view. A world of burrows and caverns, of light and music and joy.

smiled. “That’s our home,” he said. “Squeaktopia.”

Before the landing, Luke came to her with a small, dense notebook, its pages filled with scribbles, sketches, bits of colour, even a few crumbs caught in the folds.

“I’ve kept notes on everything,” he said. “Every laugh, every spark, every miracle. These are our memories, the heritage of the Mignonverse. I called it The 35 Tales from the Mignonverse. I want to release it into space like a bottle in the ocean. Maybe it will drift toward another dreamer someday.”
Lapin pressed the book to her heart.

“Luke,” she said softly, “you’re the last passenger of this first voyage. I know more travellers will come, other rockets will join, but this one was special. May I keep your book? I’d like to add some of my watercolours, a few more tales, before we let it go.”

Luke’s eyes shone. “This piece of art is your life, Lapin,” he said. “Do what feels right.”

As the gerbils ran down the ramp, squeaking with laughter and joy, Lapin stood by the window. She watched them scatter like stardust across their glowing new world.

The ship felt quiet now.
Empty, but not lonely.
Lapin closed her eyes and placed Luke’s book on the console.
One last journey to make.
A few more planets to visit.
And then, when the time was right, she too would release her stories into the great unknown,
a book floating in the cosmos,
for whoever still believes in wonder.