The sun was setting on the horizon as a girl pitches a pebble across the lake with a loud splash at the end of its journey.

"That was pretty good, wasn't it, Sanae?" She smirks. "It's your turn now!"

"Heh, Koishi, I'll show you how it's done!" Sanae winds up, revolving her arm goofily.

Koishi pouts. "No cheating!"

"Duh! I don't need to cheat to beat you!" Sanae skips the pebble on the surface, but it only encompasses half the distance of Koishi's throw.

"Teehee, I won!" Koishi giggles as the two of them sit down on the grass to stare at their reflections.

Sanae glances at Koishi, then back at herself in the sparkling water. "You know, I'm envious of you."

"What do you mean!?" Koishi jumps slightly.

Sanae twirls her hair around her finger. "You have a blank slate now, I think it's called tabula rasa? It's Latin for scraped tablet, one with all the writing removed. Something I learned from psychology class back when I lived in the outside world."

"Well, I don't know why you'd be envious about everyone hating you..." Koishi adjusts her hat nervously. "That's what happened. Don't you remember me telling you that, Sanae?"

"Yes, I do," Sanae nods, "but what I'm envious about isn't that, it's that you're able to appreciate everything you experience with a deeper understanding than I could when I was younger. You should hold that dear and make new memories, ones that make you happy!"

"Like the ones with you!" Koishi beams.

"Of course! Give me a good hug, Koishi." Sanae opens her arms up as Koishi hugs her tightly.

Koishi then puts her hat on Sanae's head and rests her head on Sanae's lap. "What do you think about love, Sanae?"

"Love?" Sanae blushes. "Love! Umm, it's a thing, your heart gets fluttery and you feel like you're stuck in time."

Koishi tilts her head. "That doesn't sound like fun."

"That's only the initial reaction!" Sanae look up at the dimly lit stars. "When you get over it and you can be with them comfortably, you feel at ease, like the world is the one stuck in time instead of you and the one you love."

Koishi pokes Sanae. "Who do you love?"

"I think I love... Aya." Another giggle from the wind priestess.

"She's so nosy though!" Koishi complains.

"It's just when she's working. When we're hanging out together, she's really cute!"

Both of them grin at each other and crack up.

Koishi touches Sanae's hair. "What are we going to do tomorrow?"

"Ah..." Sanae sighs, "I have work to do tomorrow."

Koishi frowns for a moment, then perks up again. "Who should I hang out with then?"

Sanae rubs her chin. "Hmm, you should go visit... Reimu!"

"Yay, Reimu!" Koishi stretches her arms out. "She's always fun. As fun as you, Sanae!"

"Hehe," Sanae giggles and pinches Koishi's cheek lightly, "cheer her up and tell her that Sanae says hey, alright?"

"Yeah!" Koishi laughs cheerfully.

Her smile. It's what makes living a joy, to see her happy.