The silver sun hid behind a blanket of cloud when I was ready to leave.
It felt like it was waiting for something to happen first.
I stood in the middle of the room for a moment, staring at what little I owned.
"There isn't much to pack, is there," I murmured, glancing at the folded clothes Heiwa had brought me on one of her visits.
The room felt… different now.
Not unfamiliar.
Not anymore.
Important.
Like something had happened here that the walls would remember—
even if I didn't.
"Do you think we'll see Miss Adeline?" I asked.
Anaita lay stretched across the bed, idly playing with my plumb line. She looked at me—just for a second too long—then went back to it.
"Wow. Useless," I muttered, slinging my satchel over my shoulder.
I reached the door.
Paused.
Then stepped out.
The waiting area was quiet.
"Looks like someone's ready to go," Malakai said, seated with one leg over the other, a small flame dancing between his fingers before he snuffed it out.
"Good morning," I replied, taking a seat. "Where's your best friend? Rhea still hiding from you?"
"She's asleep," he said flatly, raising a brow.
"Hm. I see."
Silence settled.
"Any idea who's picking you up?" he asked after a moment.
I shook my head.
"No."
My fingers twitched slightly.
I wondered what it would feel like to make fire.
"You shouldn't do anything stupid," Malakai added without looking at me.
"…Feels like you're about to."
"I wasn't going to," I sighed.
A pause.
Then—
"Ah. There she is."
I looked up.
Two women stood by the entrance.
"Victoria, we're here to pick you up," one of them said.
They weren't in uniform.
Which somehow made it worse.
Like they didn't need to be.
"Ah, they've already arrived," came a familiar voice.
I turned.
Miss Adeline.
White and blue—soft, elegant, like she'd stepped out of a painting.
"Good morning, Mi—Miss Adeline," I corrected myself, stopping just short of running into her.
"I thought it was your day off."
"It was," she said gently. "But I wanted to see my little angel off."
And just like that—
I was in her arms.
My eyes stung.
I blamed the dust.
"You look lovely," she said, fixing a stray strand of my hair.
"You too," I replied, heat creeping into my face.
"You've done very well these past few months," she whispered.
I buried my face into her shoulder.
Lavender.
"I'm going to miss you," I said.
"Then we'll just have to meet again," she replied lightly. "Dinner, perhaps?"
I nodded against her.
"I am Rho," one of the women said as we boarded the carriage. "And this is Alvie."
"I'm Victoria," I replied.
The other woman—Alvie—said nothing.
The restaurant was quiet. Calm. Sunlight spilled across the tables in soft gold.
"You may order anything you like," Miss Adeline said.
So I did.
"Stewed fish, frikadel, rendang, rice, tinola, and satay."
Silence.
"You make it sound like you've just been released from something," Miss Alvie remarked, a faint smirk tugging at her lips as she produced a bottle from her bag.
"Apple wine," she added, setting it on the table.
Miss Rho blinked.
"That is… quite the order."
When the food arrived, it covered nearly every inch of the table.
I didn't care.
"Try this," I said, holding up a piece of fish to Miss Adeline.
She leaned in slightly.
"Mm. Delicious."
"Lady Alvie, the satay is really good," Miss Rho added between bites.
The wine was poured.
I took a sip.
Cold.
Sweet—but not soft.
There was a sharpness to it. A quiet edge.
"Nice," I thought, finishing the glass.
Time moved strangely after that.
Like it had already decided to leave before we did.
Soft laughter.
Clinking dishes.
Sunlight shifting across the table.
A moment that didn't feel like it belonged to the same world as everything else.
"You can come visit me whenever," Miss Adeline said as we stood to leave.
I nodded.
One last hug.
Then I stepped into the carriage.
Miss Rho read a novel.
Miss Alvie sketched quietly beside her.
I turned to the window.
The world outside stretched wide—fog rolling through a forest of towering trees, their silhouettes fading into the distance.
Beautiful.
Unfamiliar.
Waiting.
It felt like I had arrived somewhere—
just after something important had already ended.