Oniisan… Ohitori Desu Ka? -

The voice was small, careful—like someone testing the surface of a deep river with their toes. I turned.

“Maybe,” I said.

“I’m not a kid,” she said, and for the first time, her voice cracked, just slightly. “I’m a person who’s been alone long enough to know what matters.” oniisan… ohitori desu ka?

I shrugged, and she sat. Not next to me, but one stone step down, so that when she tilted her head back to look at me, her face was a pale moon in the shade of my shadow. The voice was small, careful—like someone testing the

Then she stood up, brushed dust from her shorts, and pointed at the last sliver of sun disappearing behind the ridge. The voice was small