A little while later, Kiki pulled away. "Tombo, I'm leaving," she blurted out.
Tombo's face froze. Denial washed across his features. "It is kinda late," he conceded, jumping up, his heart racing. "I'll see you out… "
"I'm leaving Koriko."
Tombo sank down, numb and in shock. He got up and walked to the other side of the room.
"We're leaving Japan," Kiki explained. "All the witches are. We're leaving our commune and setting up a new one in America."
"Whoa, what? In America? That's 6,500 miles away! Whose idea was this?"
"It's a new tradition. We leave in two weeks." Two weeks to say goodbye to Osono and her family, to Ursula, to her delivery service. Two weeks to pack up her life in Koriko forever. "And it may be difficult to come back," Kiki added. "Ever."
Tombo was shaking his head. "But you came here alone. You set up a business without any help; you're a financial independent. Your parents can't make you leave if you don't want to."
"But I kinda… do," Kiki admitted.
"What?"
"I kind of do want to."
Tombo didn't know what to say. He scrunched up his face, scrubbing his head in agitation. "Why," he exploded.
"You don't understand, Tombo," Kiki said. "It's the second part of my training. The first part was moving to a new city. Now the elders want to see if I can do it in a new country."
Tombo kicked a toy airplane on the floor. "This isn't fair," he said. "What is this gonna do to us? Are we even gonna be friends anymore? Did you even think of me at all?"
"Of course I did," Kiki argued. "But it's not that simple. I've been a witch my entire life. If something happens to us, I'll always have my magic."
"So you're just anticipating something happening to us."
"No, I - " Kiki exhaled, frustrated. "Look, this isn't coming out right."
"Sounds about right to me." Tombo grabbed his jacket.
"Tombo, where are you going? It's pouring outside!"
"I'm going on a walk," he said, taking his umbrella. Little did he know that the umbrella would be a complete and utter failure. Sort of like tonight.