The window frame rattled violently as a thunderclap broke the gentle sound of rain falling outside. Mika jumped back from the window, where she had been mindlessly watching the rain fall. Regaining her composure, she looked out the window again; the clouds were darker than they had been when she had last checked.
"Mika-chan, could you go check on your sister?" her mother asked. Chiyo Shimada was many things, and concerned for the well-being of her children was definitely one of them.
"Sure." Mika stood up and walked across the living room to the stairs. She couldn't help but notice that Chiyo tended to give Alice a bit more concern, but that was understandable (if not exactly fair), since Alice was the younger child. Mika tried not to resent that too much.
She ascended the stairs and turned left down the hallway. Alice's room was the first door on the right. It was open. Mika walked in and looked around. No Alice. She lifted the skirt on the bed. No Alice. She opened the closet door. No Alice.
"Arisu-chan?" she called. "Where are you?" Mika walked out into the hallway and looked around. She saw that the bathroom door was open and the lights were off. Maybe Alice was in there.
She entered the bathroom. Nothing at first glance. So she walked up to the bathtub and pulled aside the shower curtain.
Her little sister was curled up in the bathtub, clutching her Boko for dear life. A pair of fearful eyes peeked over the top of the bear's head.
"Are you all right, Arisu-chan?" Mika asked.
Alice did not answer, but instead began to cry uncontrollably. "I-I'm s-scared, Mika-chan," she said between sobs.
Mika climbed into the tub and sat next to her sister. She wrapped her arms around Alice. "Shh, shh, don't cry, Arisu-chan," she soothed. "You're safe, you're safe." She hugged Alice tighter.
For a while, she sat there, holding Alice tightly and listening to the sounds of the storm while Alice bawled her eyes out, terrified. Eventually, Alice stopped crying and sat still. Mika continued listening to the storm. In the dark bathroom, the noise stood out even more than usual. It was a sort of meditation for Mika.
At length, Alice spoke, her voice back to normal. "Mika-chan, don't go."
"I'm not going anywhere, don't you worry," Mika answered.
"I mean in general," Alice said. "Don't leave." She took one hand off of her Boko and grabbed Mika's right hand. "Don't go away. Please."
Mika placed her left hand on top of Alice's hand. Even though Alice was only ten years old, Mika marveled at how strong her little sister's grip was. "I have to leave here," she said. "I can't stay at home with you forever."
"Why not?" Alice's voice was louder than before. In the darkness, Alice blushed, embarrassed. "I wish you could stay here forever, Mika-chan," she whispered.
"I wish I could as well," Mika told her. "I'd stay here for all eternity if I could, Arisu-chan. But that's not how the wind blows." She stopped herself and glanced at Alice. She had chosen the wrong metaphor; Alice's fearful eyes said as much. "The world doesn't work that way, sadly. Sooner or later I have to find my own way, and so do you. My time to do that is approaching fast."
"We could stay here and work together in sensha-do, so we wouldn't have to separate," Alice suggested. She seemed to be pleading for some way to stop the inevitable.
"If only," Mika agreed. "But the truth is, I'm not a sensha-do prodigy. You are."
"I am not!" Alice sounded offended at the suggestion that she was in some way abnormal.
"Hey, it's what everyone sees. And as long as they see that, our paths must diverge. You must follow that path—that's your destiny. I can't say the same for myself. I must go where the wind takes me." She looked at Alice, worried that once again she had chosen the wrong metaphor, but her little sister seemed unaffected.
"And you think the wind is taking you to that Finnish wannabe place?"
"Arisu-chan, we've been over this before. Jatkosota High School offers an excellent education for a price that our family can afford. It's the best deal."
"But why couldn't you go to a bigger one like St. Gloriana?" Alice asked.
"Because the tuition rates there are ridiculous, and you, Arisu-chan, are the beneficiary of the family savings. You'll be headed to university soon. That's not cheap. You need the money. I'll find my own way."
"That doesn't sound fair," Alice said.
"It's well-deserved. The vast majority of girls are not like you. You have a gift that will take you far. Use it. Don't limit yourself because of me. I can figure out my destiny in high school. I've accepted the disparity in funds already."
"You don't—you don't hate me for it?" Alice sounded like she couldn't believe it.
"Of course not, Arisu-chan. How could I hate you?"
"I just thought—"
"Don't worry, I don't hate you. I don't even hate our parents for it. It's just who we are. You have your destiny and I have mine. And we have to live with it."
Alice started to say something, but stopped herself. She found herself at a loss for words to refute what Mika had said. She took her hand off of Mika's at last and hugged her Boko again.
"Listen," Mika said. "It sounds like the storm has stopped."
Alice listened. There was silence outside.
"Come on, Arisu-chan, let's get out of this tub. I'm getting stiff here." Alice did not move. "Arisu-chan? I love you." Mika hugged Alice again.
Alice let go of her Boko and slowly wrapped her arms around her big sister. "I love you too, Mika-chan," she whispered.
"I'll always think of you, even when I'm away, okay?"
"I know," Alice said.
"Come, let's go downstairs. Mom is waiting." Mika stood up, with Alice still wrapped around her. She bent down and picked up her sister's Boko. Alice's big eyes looked at her face, searching for something.
"You'll always be my sister," Mika whispered. Alice relaxed, and her eyes closed.
Mika climbed over the side of the tub and carried Alice back to her room. She laid Alice on the bed and placed the Boko next to her. Even in her sleep, Alice's arms instinctively wrapped themselves around the bear. Mika smiled and crept out of the room. She made her way downstairs.
"Where's your sister?" Chiyo asked, still worried.
"She's asleep in her room."
"Was she there when you went upstairs? You were gone quite a while."
"She was…let's just say a little out of sorts. But I think she's feeling better now."
"Good," said Chiyo. Satisfied, she disappeared into the study.
Mika sat on the couch and replayed her conversation with Alice in her mind. Alice was still a child, but she had the makings of something big. As for herself, Mika didn't know where she would end up one day, but she knew one thing for sure: she would always be there for Alice, and Alice would always be there for her.