Rain falls on the one-bed apartment roof, each drop a crackle on the skylight windowpane. The window by the wardrobe is open at a shy angle, and a trodden-leaf aroma diffuses into the apartment air, smelling of earthy treacle.
The bed is against the wall. Fujino perches on the mattress edge, and Shiki slouches against the bed frame, legs splayed on the wood laminate floor.
"Need a drink? There's some water, if you want it," Shiki says.
Fujino shakes her head. "I'm fine, thank you."
Shiki gets up and swings the fridge door open. The interior lights flicker on, illuminating half a pyramid-stack of bottles on the middle shelf. She takes one, and closes the door with the back of her good hand. Sitting back down by the bed, Shiki tries to twist the cap, clasping the bottle between her knees. It doesn't budge. Her hand is slick with condensation.
"Damn it."
Shiki wipes her hand against her skirt.
The cap unscrews.
She jolts, but catches the bottle before it reaches the floor. "Close one."
"Sorry - I was trying to help," Fujino says.
"Thanks. Pretty and useful," Shiki replies, taking a swig then proceeding to choke on it. "Agh, uh, your magic, I mean."
"T-thanks."
"I mean you are pretty, just, ah - forget I said anything." Shiki pushes her face into the sheets, turning red like her leather jacket, which hangs on the doorknob with a sprinkle of rogue raindrops beneath it.
From miles above, the drone of a Boeing jet sounds amidst the rain cascade, deep, pitching high on approach, then deep again as it recedes into the night.
"Where do you think it's going?" Fujino asks.
"None of my business," Shiki says, voice muffled against the mattress.
Leaning back a little, Fujino laughs softly. "Maybe it's somewhere hot, like Cyprus - I'd love to go somewhere warm and sunny. Sunbathe on a beach with fine sand. A silly dream, though."
Shiki lifts her head and looks at the wall. It's eggshell-white, sprouting hairline cracks.
"Nah. Sounds like a plan, actually."