The truth behind the mysterious disappearance of the brooch had turned out to be really quite simple.
"There was a young girl who ran into you, right? After you flew off
in a hurry, she picked up the brooch."
Her eyes still glittering with the money I'd given her, the old woman told me she'd seen it all happen. And her story was the truth; a part of me had suspected the same thing. To not find it after searching around so thoroughly…someone must have picked it up.
I'd suspected something was up from the start.
...
Saya.
Your broom control was almost too bad—enough to make me think that you were flying badly on purpose. After all, if you couldn't fly your broom well enough, you wouldn't even be allowed in this country.
At first, I had assumed that Saya was a local, but when I asked her about it, she said she was a mage from an eastern country who had come here under special circumstances. If that was true, it was even stranger that she couldn't fly her broom. And so…
…Here's the truth. I doubted you from the very beginning. I waited and waited for you to give my brooch back. "But you hid it and never gave it back to me. Instead, you said you wanted me to stay with you forever. I've had it up to here with you," I told her.
Saya sat on the bed, hanging her head. I wondered what emotion was on her face, but I made no move to comfort her by touching her shoulder like I did when we first met. Unfortunately, I'm not that kind.
She kept her gaze to the ground as if to avoid the moonlight, and I simply waited for her reply.
I wonder how much time passed. One minute? Ten minutes? It might have been only ten seconds.
"…question me?"
I could just barely hear a very small voice. "What was that?" I asked.
"…Why didn't you question me?" This time I heard her clearly.
"Because I didn't have any proof. That's the first reason. Even if I accused you and called you a thief, if you had denied it, I wouldn't have had any evidence. My hands would've been tied."
"..."
"Plus, I believed you'd give it back eventually. I don't really think you're a bad person, Saya."
This innocent, high-spirited girl reminded me of a child who had been spoiled by her mother.
"So I waited," I told her.
Saya finally raised her head. Her pretty face was a mess, wrinkled up to cry. She wiped at her tears and tried to suppress her sobs as she said, "I was lonely."
"I'm not your little sister."
"I know that. I know that, but…I…I wanted to be with you." Her voice had grown so small. I wasn't sure whether she was talking to her sister or to me.
If I were to write out what I'd learned about Saya in the short time since we met, it would be an awfully short list, but somehow, I believed I had come to understand what kind of person she was. She was a useless older sister who always let her sweet younger sister indulge her. I'm sure she had always been that way, which was why she couldn't stand it when her little sister left her behind.
"I hated being alone. I hated it, and I was scared, so I—"
"Hey." I flicked her forehead, and it made a firm twik. "That's no excuse."
If you hate being alone, find someone to rely on. If you hate being ridiculed for being alone, get out there and find someone you get along with. If solitude is scary, do everything you can to escape it.
"Does it really matter if you're by yourself now? If you're feeling alone? Can you become an apprentice witch while you're still holding on to those fears? Whenever humans are really, seriously trying to accomplish anything, they're always alone. You can't get anything done if you're not by yourself. It's all over if you have a partner."
Your younger sister was probably trying to teach you that by leaving you. I can't say for sure, though.
"…But."
"Ah-ah-ah. No buts. I won't hear any excuses." I covered my ears with both hands and shook my head. No way. My hair flew around wildly and hit her in the face.
Whoops, bet she didn't like that.
"Sure, struggling by yourself is hard. It's scary. I understand that. And
that's why…" As I was speaking, I used magic to conjure up a pointy hat, exactly the same as mine, and plopped it on her head. "…I'm giving you this. Let me leave a little part of myself by your side. Then you'll be all right even when you're alone."
Gripping the brim of the hat tightly, Saya said, "But if I take this, you won't have…"
"Ah, it's okay. That's a spare."
I produced another hat and showed it to her before donning it myself. "Now we match. From now on, you'll be on your own, but never truly alone. Your sister and I are always watching over you." So give me back my brooch, I silently urged her.
She pulled the hat way, way down on her head and gripped it very, very tightly, and with trembling shoulders, she gave a silent nod. She looked so weak and helpless.
I hugged her thin shoulders and pulled her closer.
The day had come.
We had spent my final night in the country together. I had comforted Saya as she wept, given her some advice for passing the practical magical skills exam, heard all about the country she and her sister were from, discussed my future travels, and so on.
Oh, and it turns out that Saya is actually a very powerful mage. I mean, I had known that all along, but I never did learn why she was so bad at wind magic. On that point, no matter how much I inquired, Saya only blushed bright red and refused to answer. What's her deal?
At the end of it all, we had fallen asleep together just as the sun was rising. It had been a long, long night.
But a precious memory