Task: Story Composition
Input (English): Fact1: teenage boy dies of starvation in Kobe train station, Fact2: janitor sorts through possessions finds candy tin, Fact3: spirit of Seita 's younger sister is joined by Seita 's spirit and cloud of fireflies, Fact4: Seita and Setsuko 's house is destroyed in firebombing along with most of Kobe, Fact5: distant aunt convinces Seita to sell mother 's kimonos for rice
Output (English): On September 21, 1945, shortly after the end of World War II, a teenage boy, Seita, dies of starvation in a Kobe train station. A janitor sorts through his possessions and finds a candy tin, which he throws into a field. The spirit of Seitas younger sister, Setsuko, springs from the tin and is joined by Seitas spirit and a cloud of fireflies. They board a train. Some months earlier, Seita and Setsukos house is destroyed in a firebombing along with most of Kobe. They are unharmed, but their mother dies from burns. Seita and Setsuko move in with a distant aunt, who convinces Seita to sell his mothers kimonos for rice. Seita retrieves supplies he buried before the bombing and gives everything to his aunt but a tin of Sakuma drops. As rations shrink and the number of refugees in the house grows, the aunt becomes resentful of the children, saying they donthing to earn the food she prepares. Seita and Setsuko leave and move into an abandoned bomb shelter. They release fireflies into the shelter for light. The next day, Setsuko is horrified to find that the insects have died. She buries them in a grave, asking why they and her mother had to die. As they run out of rice, Seita steals from farmers and loots homes during air raids, for which he is beaten. When Setsuko falls ill, Seita takes her to a doctor, who explains that she is suffering from malnutrition but offers no help. In a panic, Seita withdraws all the money in their mothers bank account. As he leaves the bank, he becomes distraught when he learns that Japan has surrendered. He also learns that his father, a captain in the Imperial Japanese Navy, is probably dead, as most of Japans navy has been sunk. Seita returns to the shelter with a large quantity of food, but finds Setsuko hallucinating. He hurries to cook, but she dies as he finishes preparing the food. Seita cremates Setsukos body and her stuffed doll in a straw casket. He carries her ashes in the candy tin along with his fathers photograph. Seita and Setsukos deceased spirits arrive at their destination, healthy and happy, and sit on a bench surrounded by fireflies overlooking presentday Kobe.