The morning was a repeat of the previous day. Akiko visited several shops that weren’t hiring right now, and spent a couple of hours in a cafe calling companies who were no longer interested in the jobs they had advertised. By lunchtime she had called all of the reasonable candidates, with no luck at all. She ordered some food in the cafe; it was slightly expensive, but after sitting there all morning she didn’t feel that she could just leave to eat elsewhere.

She did leave after the meal, though, to avoid being forced to eat dinner there as well. After an hour wandering aimlessly around the shopping area, she came to the conclusion that she had asked in all the shops that looked at all likely. She knew that she ought to try the ones that didn’t look likely, as well, but she just couldn’t summon up the motivation.

She found herself walking away from the station, towards the shrine, and decided to continue. She had nothing better to do, and the shrine was a better place to be sitting than in front of the station like some unemployed homeless person. Even if she was an unemployed homeless person.

After purification and paying her respects, Akiko looked around the shrine, deciding what to do. There was no litter she could see, and probably none hidden, since she had found only a couple of small pieces the previous day. There were, however, some weeds growing in the path, and she decided to pull them up. The grey stones were cool to the touch, and the scattering of earth from the roots of the weeds fell like black stars against clouds.

“I’ve made some tea. Would you like some?â€

Akiko hadn’t heard Shiraishi approach, and she quickly stood up to greet the priest properly.

“Yes, thank you.â€

“It’s inside. Come on in.â€ Shiraishi led the way, and, in the entrance way, pointed at a corner. “Leave the weeds there. I’ll throw them out later.â€

Once they were seated and drinking the tea, Shiraishi turned to Akiko, slightly hesitant.

“Er, thank you for doing the weeding.â€ Akiko bowed her head in acknowledgement.

“It’s really nothing.â€

“I can’t help noticing that you’re here on a weekday afternoon…â€ Her voice trailed off, and she seemed to be blushing slightly. Akiko was sure she was.

“Oh, yes. I’m… I’m not working today.â€ <em>Perfectly true,</em> she told herself.

“Mmm.â€ Shiraishi didn’t sound entirely satisfied. “Are you all right?â€

“What? Oh yes, I’m fine. Why shouldn’t I be?â€ Even as she said it, Akiko realised it was a silly thing to say, given what she had said to Shiraishi and what the priest had seen. She felt herself blushing again, and dropped her eyes.

“Well, I was just a bit worried, you know…â€ The priest was probing a bit, and Akiko seriously considered telling her everything. It had gone wrong last time, but they seemed to have got over that, and the priest already knew about Akiko seeing Tamao. For a moment, she wanted to, but she couldn’t quite make herself form the words.

“No, I’m fine.â€ Picking up the tea, she forced a smile over the top of the cup.