Morning showed up with a confused expression, surprised by what the sun's light found when it simmered into the room.
"So, what do you want to do today?" I asked Megumi, who was contemplating whether taking a bath was worth the effort of getting out of bed.
"Hmm. I want to lie down some more and..."
She paused, rolling slightly beneath the sheets as though the rest of the sentence had become too difficult to retrieve.
"What about breakfast?" I offered, searching for a reason to get up myself.
"I don't know. But we could do brunch if we miss it, no?"
Her tail moved lazily across the sheets.
"Yes, we could. But didn't you want to visit the library to find out what that word meant?"
"What word?"
"Chi."
"That's right. I forgot about that."
She was already getting out of bed.
That was enough to get me moving too.
I had left my medicine on the table the night before, and I reached for it as I stood.
"We could use this break to..."
I stopped.
I wasn't really sure what I intended to do with the day.
We had spent the last several weeks working, training, travelling, recovering, and working again. A day with nothing assigned to it felt almost suspicious.
"I really like how this soap smells."
Megumi was already out of the bathroom.
I looked at the soap I had laid out.
"Yeah. The smell of coconut and honey is really something."
We should have bought more.
"Yes, but we could use today to see if they sell it somewhere."
She applied lotion to her hands.
"Yeah. Going to another country was really enjoyable, wasn't it?"
"It was, wasn't it?"
I smiled before stepping into the bathroom.
After I had finished, I came out to find Megumi standing near the dresser.
"Do you think Nakamura would have preferred the perfume to the mooncake?"
She turned toward me.
"She seemed to like it. Even Mr. Nicolas was pleased when I gave him some."
The scent of something familiar and strange had already filled the room.
"Did he? That's good to know."
I made my way to the dresser.
"Is that the perfume we bought?"
"It is."
She turned slightly, posing behind me.
"What do you think?"
I looked at the bottle.
"The emerald and white... cream looks nice."
I was already putting on my clothes.
"White top with a navy-blue skirt is rather simple," she said, fastening a gold necklace around her neck.
"I like simple."
I glanced at the clock.
"Fifteen minutes past nine. We should get going."
Megumi looked toward the window.
"It seems the sun has ideas."
Outside, the morning was already brightening.
We left.
"Where to first?" I asked as we made our way toward the bus.
"Hinanjo."
"The restaurant?"
"For breakfast."
She climbed onto the bus with the decision already decided.
"I want to try something from another culture."
"Makes sense."
I handed over the fare and followed her inside.
When we arrived, the restaurant seemed to hide the sun behind itself. Its front was crowded with people standing around the entrance, and for a moment I wondered whether we had chosen the wrong time.
Inside, we were directed toward a table.
I opened the menu.
"Should we really be risking our brunch on discovery?"
"You tried the bibimbap and liked it when we travelled, though."
"That is true."
I continued looking through the menu.
"We'll have butter chicken and tom yum goong."
Megumi slowly lowered the menu.
"This was supposed to be breakfast."
"Or at least a light lunch."
I sighed.
"Apparently we have failed at both."
She smiled.
The food arrived not long after.
While we were eating, voices from the table behind us drifted over.
"A new Prime Minister has been appointed."
"Oh? Has His Majesty finally recovered?"
"Did you hear?"
I looked at Megumi.
"His Majesty has recovered."
"Ah, that's great news."
She continued eating.
"What a mess it was. He fell ill without appointing a Prime Minister."
"That it was."
I took another bite of chicken.
"The Continental Parliament had to step in."
Megumi nodded.
"Some said that was what contributed to the war."
I thought about it.
There were histories in which a single absence could become a political vacuum.
A single illness.
A single appointment that was never made.
A few people deciding they could govern temporarily.
And then, eventually, nobody agreeing on what temporary meant anymore.
I didn't say any of that.
My mouth was occupied.
"Here."
Megumi held out some of her food.
"Try this."
I accepted it.
It was good.
Very good.
By the time we finished, neither of us had eaten anything that could reasonably still be called breakfast.
We paid and bought some bread on the way out.
"I like the bread here," I said as we continued toward the library.
"I haven't been to the library before."
Megumi looked up at the building.
"It has this feel to it."
"Same."
We went inside.
The quiet was immediate.
Not empty.
Just restrained.
Shelves rose around us, and the smell of paper seemed to settle over everything.
We found seats and began looking.
Megumi opened a dictionary.
"Dictionary, reveal your truth."
I had to choose between laughing and rolling my eyes.
She looked at me with complete seriousness.
Then she read.
"A life force in traditional philosophy, culture, medicine, and so on, related to, but not limited to, breath and circulation."
She paused.
I looked at her.
She looked at me.
"He was a cultivator, was he?"
I shook my head.
"His file said he wasn't."
"Hmm."
She went back to the book.
We checked a few others.
Philosophy.
History.
Medicine.
Religious studies.
Cultural anthropology.
The word kept appearing in different places, wearing slightly different explanations.
None of them quite satisfied her.
Eventually, she closed the book.
We left.
"We should buy a bookshelf."
Megumi spoke as we walked.
"We can place it in the living room."
"Yes."
She considered this.
"And let's also get a gramophone."
I stopped walking.
"A gramophone?"
"Hm."
She nodded.
"It would be nice."
I thought about it.
"Hm."
I resumed walking.
"Not a bad idea."
The sun stayed quiet behind clouds that owed us more than a little.
We continued down the street.
"Are you satisfied with your findings?"
The question remained between us for a while.
"No."
Megumi finally answered.
"But I'm sure someone at work would know."
"Makes sense."
I thought about the Concord Liaison Building.
The first time we'd visited, its size had felt almost imposing.
There were people there who had spent decades studying things neither of us had even known existed.
If there was an answer, someone there probably had it.
We reached the store where we'd bought some of our other furniture.
By the time we finished, the afternoon had begun to lean toward evening.
We decided to head home.
On the other side of the road, I noticed a mother walking with her children.
One held her hand.
Another walked slightly ahead.
The smallest struggled to keep up.
The mother slowed without being asked.
She waited.
The child caught up.
Then they continued.
I watched them until they disappeared around the corner.
I didn't know why I had stopped looking.
Perhaps because there were some things that did not require explanation to be understood.
Perhaps because, after everything we'd learned, I had begun noticing relationships before objects.
Or perhaps I was simply tired.
Megumi continued walking ahead of me.
"Are you coming?"
"Yes."
I caught up.
We had spent the day doing much of nothing.
We had eaten too much.
Looked through books.
Bought bread.
Considered buying a bookshelf.
Decided, somehow, that we also needed a gramophone.
We had learned almost nothing about Chi.
And for some reason...
That felt alright.
There would be another day.
Another question.
Another book.
Another person who might know.
For now, we simply went home.