. But then again, she'd never looked for a way up here in the first place.

  Her legs swung freely over the edge of the roof of her apartment complex. It was a small thing, barely a couple storeys tall. And old, she suspected. Even so, she'd come to find it rather comfortable. She didn't know when exactly she started to think of this place as "home."

  The wind tousled her hair. Even in summer, the rough floor began to chill her fingertips with the cool of night. The sky was an imperceptible curtain of dark above, any hint of starlight blotted out by the lights endlessly shining from below. Roads lit with soft incandescence stretched ever onwards before her. If she focused hard enough in that direction, she could almost begin to make out the brights and flashes of the downtown city center with its neon lights and flashing advertisements.

  But here, everything was quiet. Only occasionally did a car come by, its quiet hum rising and fading as it passed. Erina filled her lungs with the crisp night air—nice, deep, till it was a part of her, and then let it all out.

  She liked the quiet. She liked when the city felt still and peaceful, and it was just her and the steady glow of the streetlights and the roads waiting for the people who would travel them in the morning. It helped clear her head. It made her own racing thoughts settle and calm when she couldn't wrest them down on her own.

  "Erina-san? Is that you up there?"

  Erina blinked. "Me?"

  "Yoohoo!" A woman waved up to her from the street. "Aren't you up late! Don't you have school in the morning?"

  "No," said Erina. "Er, I mean—well—" She cleared her throat. "…In any case, it's fine."

  The woman climbed the stairs to the second floor. Erina made out long light violet hair, a beige cardigan, a simple but elegant white dress… Right, this was her neighbour, Gotou Lily. Erina had barely seen her since they first met a while ago.

  "What are you doing up there?" said Lily.

  "I couldn't sleep," said Erina. "Coming here calms my mind."

  "Normally, I'd say be careful going on walks at night, but if you're all the way up there, I don't think anyone's coming to get you!" she laughed. "Erina-san, tonight is chilly. Why don't we go inside and have some tea to warm up?"

  Erina had never been in Lily's apartment before.

  So she didn't expect to get swarmed by puppies the second she was through the door.

  "Down, down!" laughed Lily. "Sorry, they get like this whenever I have visitors. Mochi, no, that's rude!"

  She tugged away the puppy up on its hind legs apparently trying to hug Erina. The girl in question couldn't resist a small smile as she petted all the dogs that couldn't seem to get enough of her, even if she had to ward off the larger ones trying to lick her face.

  "Okay, okay, I'm home early, no need to celebrate!" Lily calmed the dogs and guided Erina over. Soft beige walls, soft pastels and lace trimmings for every piece of furniture and upholstery—she certainly had a distinct taste.

  They sat at Lily's kotatsu with cups of tea in hand. "Decaf tonight," said Lily with a wink. "Don't be too late to school in the morning."

  "It's really not necessary," said Erina, "I don't attend."

  "You don't go to school?"

  Erina froze. Did she just say it that easily? She couldn't afford to be so loose-lipped. At least it was something mundane and not to do with the world of magic, but even then…

  In any case, one cat was out of the bag. Erina said, "No. I'm currently working."

  "In what?"

  "…Laboratory research. New technologies development and documentation." It was true, technically.

  "And how'd you get that job?"

  "Er…"

  Sensing Erina's hesitation, Lily giggled, "It's okay. I must be probing, aren't I? I'm sorry, I just get excited to meet new people." Waving one of her smaller puppies over to her side, she patted it idly as she took a sip of her tea. "I bet you moved out here for your job too… you must be quite a smart one, did you know that?"

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  "Thank you." Erina drank her tea as well. It was gentle and soothing. Holding the cup warmed her fingers.

  "I work for a shelter," offered Lily. "The night shift, I'm sure you could guess. Tonight turned out to be surprisingly peaceful, so I decided to come back home and check in on the little ones here for a change."

  Erina looked around at the numerous dogs in the apartment—some watching them, some listening intently, others fast asleep in their little doggy beds. "Are these for your work?"

  "They were supposed to be, but I just couldn't let them go! Guess that takes me out of running for the best shelter worker competition!" Lily bonked herself on the head and stuck out her tongue. "No, they're all here to stay now."

  "They're very gentle." At least, Erina assumed as much. They didn't bowl her over when she came in, even though a couple of them had to be heavier than she was.

  "Great with people," agreed Lily. "At least, they are now. Some of them were a lot less nice when they first came in. See Kaze there?"

  Erina followed her pointing finger to the large, almost wolf-like gray dog sleeping on the couch.

  "He was a handful. Brought him in off the streets almost in pieces, and he couldn't stand anyone for the longest time. Faceful of jaws if you gave him the chance! If I couldn't turn him around… well, there's only so much room for so many dogs that can go home. But now, you can see he's just the sweetest thing." Lily's expression softened. "They're a lot easier than people, in a sense. A dog can't be born evil, only wanting to hurt others. With dogs, there's always something kind deep down, no matter how much it's had to protect itself in…"

  "Protect itself?" said Erina.

  "From a harsh world. From people without a human heart…" Lily nursed her cup, but that pensive look on her face passed as quickly as it came. "What I'm trying to say is, dogs are nice! They've all got a golden heart in them—just that some hide it better than others." With a smile, she added, "I get the feeling you're that kind too, Erina-san."

  "Me?"

  Lily winked. "Call it intuition."

  "Hardly," said Erina modestly. Then, more quietly, "If anything, I'd be more like a cat…"

  "Dog, cat, it's all the same!" laughed Lily.

  A gentle quiet lapsed as they both drank their tea. This time, it was Erina who spoke up first.

  "I was thinking about where I'm going," she said. "Not physically, but… where my future is headed."

  A slight dip of Lily's head prompted her to continue.

  "Something happened a few days ago, and…" Erina thought it might be difficult to explain it without revealing something important. But as she dwelled on it more, she realized it wasn't necessarily to do with what happened to her—just with herself. "It's made me think about who I am, and what I should do."

  "Purpose, huh?" said Lily quietly. "It's a tough question to answer."

  "Yes. It is. I feel like…" Erina thought about how to word it. "I have to do something with my life. If I quietly go along with what others tell me… I don't think that will make me happy."

  "What does make you happy then?" Seeing the hesitation, Lily gently added, "Not in a big overarching way. What are the little things that make you happy? The things you like doing? Yesterday and the day before, what made you feel like smiling?"

  "I like… studying. Learning. About math, about science, about the world."

  "But you said you're not in school, though?" Lily giggled at the glance sent her way. "Kidding! I know what you mean. It's not just about the things you can get from a textbook. You put it like learning about the world, but I would think of it more like, hmm… learning about the lives people can lead in this world."

  "I hadn't thought of it that way."

  Erina drank her tea. Lily quietly waited for her to finish, let her thoughts settle in her head, and speak again.

  "Back then," said Erina quietly, "I made up my mind that I would decide my path. But now that I'm left to think about it myself… what does it mean? To make a decision on who I want to be? What will it mean for the world I live in? Do I even know what I'm talking about…?"

  She hesitated. Her next words came out as barely better than a mumble.

  "Or am I really just clinging to something without real meaning…?"

  Lily tilted her head slightly. Then—

  Thunk.

  The firm sound of a cup set down on the kotatsu jolted Erina out of her reverie.

  "I don't know about you," said Lily gently, "but I think you're on quite a good path already."

  "What do you mean?" said Erina.

  "Asking questions, exploring the possible avenues of life—isn't that good enough? I know it's confusing to feel like there's a thousand forks in the road ahead of you. And you're expected to choose one? What a terrible decision to make. How could you possibly know which one's the right one?"

  Erina nodded slightly.

  "I've been there before. It's not easy. But if I could say anything to my past self, it'd be this: does it matter?"

  Lily offered the confused girl a smile.

  "Who said your decision had to be carved into a rock?" she continued. "Even if it was, that doesn't mean you can't change it. You might need a lot more chiseling and a good bit of elbow grease, but even that can be written over—not necessarily deleted, but carried on another way. You're already on a good path, Erina-san. Looking around at the world, learning more. Whenever you feel you're ready, like you have something you want to believe in, reach out and take it while your heart's shining bright. Even if you realize you've taken on a wrong turn later—is that really so bad? Heading forward, doubling back… one way or another, you're always changing your own world."

  "Heading forward, doubling back," repeated Erina. "Ah. Heh."

  "Hm?"

  Erina suddenly turned away, one hand to her mouth to mask the silent giggle behind it. "Please excuse me," she said. "Yes, you're right. It was me who was overcomplicating things." Her gaze drifted down to her empty cup. "Yes, that's just it… One step back and two steps forward… Wavering, but when looking back, always converging towards the right path…"

  Lily watched the girl idly turn the cup—spinning the wheel one way, then the other, then back again. "It's getting late," she said quietly. "Are you feeling better?"

  "I am," said Erina. "Thank you, Gotou-san."

  "Lily," she reminded her cheekily.

  "Thank you, Lily. This was a nice talk."

  "Anytime." With a wink, Lily added, "Unless it's supposed to be your bedtime or mine, that is. Nighty-night, Erina-san."

  "Good night."