ㅤ
The welfare office replied before I finished breakfast.
ㅤ
I knew because the messenger knocked while I was trying to persuade Mira that bread dipped in soup was an acceptable morning meal.
ㅤ
“We had soup for supper yesterday.”
ㅤ
“It's breakfast today.”
ㅤ
“Soup doesn't know that.”
ㅤ
“An excellent argument. Eat.”
ㅤ
The letter said Professor Bellamy would welcome Evelyn at the review, provided I remained the primary applicant and Evelyn spoke only to matters she knew firsthand. Mrs. Fenwick could submit a signed statement or attend briefly. The meeting was set for Thursday afternoon.
ㅤ
I read it again, then put it beside Mira's bowl.
ㅤ
“Is it bad?” she asked.
ㅤ
“No. They said Evelyn can come, if she still wants to.”
ㅤ
Mira dipped her bread. “She will.”
ㅤ
“I still have to tell her Bellamy agreed.”
ㅤ
“You already asked.”
ㅤ
“I asked whether she wanted to. Now I have to tell her she can.”
ㅤ
Mira thought this over. “Lots of asking and telling.”
ㅤ
“Welcome to the academy.”
ㅤ
***
ㅤ
At Mrs. Fenwick's, I explained the review and offered to draft the childcare statement so she wouldn't have to spend her evening on it.
ㅤ
“I can write my own name and my own account, thank you,” she said.
ㅤ
“Of course. I meant the schedule.”
ㅤ
“That you may write. Your handwriting is less likely to frighten the clerk.”
ㅤ
Mira, who was arranging buttons into a circle, raised her hand.
ㅤ
“Can I write something?”
ㅤ
“Not for this form,” I said. “You can draw something for Mrs. Fenwick.”
ㅤ
“A flower?”
ㅤ
“An excellent choice,” Mrs. Fenwick said.
ㅤ
By the time I left, she'd found a sheet of paper and three shades of yellow thread. I suspected the statement would be finished long before the flower.
ㅤ
***
ㅤ
Halden returned the preservation copy after lecture.
ㅤ
“I can't identify the formation from this,” he said. “The document carries a weak residue, but it's been exposed to heat and water. That complicates interpretation.”
ㅤ
“Is it transport magic?”
ㅤ
“Possibly. I'm not going to give you a confident answer because you want one.”
ㅤ
“I'd be concerned if you did.”
ㅤ
He gave me a look. “You'd be surprised how many students prefer confidence to accuracy.”
ㅤ
He'd marked two phrases in the margin of his own notes. One concerned the unusual paper fibers. The other was a recommendation to consult an archive catalogue of specialist stationery suppliers. No names, no dramatic revelation.
ㅤ
“Miss Vale suggested something similar.”
ㅤ
“Then listen to her. And don't bring the original to another workshop without telling me.”
ㅤ
“I won't.”
ㅤ
“Your exhibition proposal?”
ㅤ
“With Evelyn. We should have it by Friday.”
ㅤ
“Good. Try not to let the mystery swallow your coursework.”
ㅤ
I didn't ask how much he suspected. He'd been clear about the limits of his involvement, and I intended to respect them.
ㅤ
***
ㅤ
Evelyn was waiting near the library steps when I found her. I gave her Bellamy's reply before the notes on the letter.
ㅤ
“Bellamy says you can attend as someone familiar with Mira. I know you said you would, but I wanted you to see the conditions first.”
ㅤ
“I'll attend,” she said, reading them before folding the letter.
ㅤ
“Thank you.”
ㅤ
“Have you told Mira I'm allowed?”
ㅤ
“She predicted you wouldn't change your mind over breakfast.”
ㅤ
“That sounds like her.”
ㅤ
Evelyn read the conditions. “I won't claim to be her legal guardian. Or pretend I can confirm how she arrived.”
ㅤ
“That's exactly what I hoped we'd agree on.”
ㅤ
She looked up. “You were going to tell me how to answer?”
ㅤ
“No. I was going to ask what you were comfortable saying.”
ㅤ
“Better.”
ㅤ
I handed her Halden's notes. She studied the references and tucked them into her notebook.
ㅤ
“Paper suppliers,” she said. “A wonderfully unromantic lead.”
ㅤ
“I'll take unromantic if it gets us somewhere.”
ㅤ
“Will you?”
ㅤ
I opened my mouth, then noticed the corner of her smile.
ㅤ
“That's unfair.”
ㅤ
“You walked into it.”
ㅤ
***
ㅤ
We spent the next hour on the exhibition proposal instead of the letter. Evelyn had rewritten my introduction so it no longer promised a breakthrough in barrier theory. I replaced her first diagram with one a first-year could read without a magnifying lens.
ㅤ
“Your version is oversimplified,” she said.
ㅤ
“Yours requires three years of prior study.”
ㅤ
“Two.”
ㅤ
“Very reassuring.”
ㅤ
We settled on two diagrams: the complete channel layout for the judges and a simplified version for visitors. The demonstration would compare a stronger opening barrier with a lower-output configuration designed to last longer. Identical mana limits, recorded duration, and a clear safety cutoff.
ㅤ
Evelyn tapped the final page. “We should rehearse without Halden correcting us every twenty seconds.”
ㅤ
“Is that possible?”
ㅤ
“We could try.”
ㅤ
I checked my timetable. “Tomorrow after lunch. I have tutoring in the evening.”
ㅤ
“Then tomorrow.”
ㅤ
For a few minutes, we were simply students preparing something together. It was nice enough that I noticed when the feeling ended.
ㅤ
***
ㅤ
The second tutoring student finally sent an answer. Her name was Lina, and she wanted one trial lesson before agreeing to a regular schedule. I wrote back offering a session the following week at the same rate as Tomas. No guaranteed income yet, but another possibility.
ㅤ
I bought a small bag of potatoes on the way home and found Mira at Mrs. Fenwick's table, asleep over a drawing of a marigold. Sir Flopsy lay beside her, his repaired ear trapped beneath her elbow.
ㅤ
“She wore herself out,” Mrs. Fenwick said quietly. “She asked three times whether Thursday was tomorrow.”
ㅤ
“Did she seem frightened?”
ㅤ
“Less than yesterday. But she's counting days.”
ㅤ
I lifted Mira carefully. She woke enough to mumble about flowers, then settled against my shoulder. The walk home was slow. I didn't mind.
ㅤ
***
ㅤ
That evening, we prepared the welfare folder together. I read out each item as I checked it: lease, rent receipt, assistantship confirmation, grading appointment, childcare schedule. Mira put a small mark beside each line in a separate notebook.
ㅤ
“Can I bring Sir Flopsy?”
ㅤ
“Of course.”
ㅤ
“Will they ask him questions?”
ㅤ
“Probably not.”
ㅤ
“He's shy.”
ㅤ
“I'll warn them.”
ㅤ
She drew a square around the final item.
ㅤ
“Where's Mommy's paper?”
ㅤ
“She'll speak for herself if they ask her. We don't need to write her answers.”
ㅤ
Mira looked at the folder. “Do I have to tell them about the red room?”
ㅤ
My hand stopped.
ㅤ
“No. The meeting is about where you live and who's looking after you. If someone asks a question you don't understand, you can say so. If you need a break, tell me.”
ㅤ
“And if they ask where I came from?”
ㅤ
“I'll answer what I can. You don't have to solve that for me.”
ㅤ
She pressed the notebook closed. “Okay.”
ㅤ
I hoped the meeting would be as straightforward as the letter suggested. I wasn't going to promise that it would be.
ㅤ
***
ㅤ
Thursday arrived with rain. The left shutter stuck exactly as Mr. Pell had warned, and I had to lift it before closing it. Mira watched from the table.
ㅤ
“The window's being difficult.”
ㅤ
“It has a reputation to maintain.”
ㅤ
She wore her blue ribbon and carried Sir Flopsy in the crook of her arm. Mrs. Fenwick met us outside the welfare office with her signed statement, then squeezed Mira's hand before going back to work. Evelyn arrived a few minutes later, damp at the shoulders from the rain.
ㅤ
“You came,” Mira said.
ㅤ
“I said I would.”
ㅤ
Mira took her free hand. I took the other.
ㅤ
Bellamy opened the door herself.
ㅤ
“Good afternoon. Come in.”
ㅤ
***
ㅤ
The meeting room had three chairs and a low table with pencils. Bellamy had added a fourth chair near the window. She invited Mira to draw while we talked and asked whether she'd prefer the door open. Mira chose open.
ㅤ
Bellamy reviewed the lease, my income, and Mrs. Fenwick's hours. She asked how I planned to cover the gap between wages and expenses.
ㅤ
“Tutoring,” I said. “One student has started. A second requested a trial lesson. I also have savings for the immediate costs.”
ㅤ
“Your current confirmed income doesn't cover every weekly expense, even with the first tutoring payment.”
ㅤ
“No. I'm not presenting the possible second student as confirmed, or assuming Tomas will continue indefinitely.”
ㅤ
Bellamy wrote that down. “What happens if the tutoring stops?”
ㅤ
“I'd return to the department for additional work and review our spending. I'd tell this office if I couldn't maintain the arrangement, rather than wait for the next review.”
ㅤ
“Good. Silence is harder to help than a problem reported early.”
ㅤ
She turned to Evelyn. “And your involvement?”
ㅤ
“I visit Mira and Adrian. I've seen the apartment, shared meals with them, and spent time with Mira at bedtime. I can confirm that Adrian's account of their routine matches what I've observed. I haven't supervised their weekdays, so I can't speak to every hour.”
ㅤ
Bellamy's pen paused. “Are you offering financial support?”
ㅤ
“Not as part of this application,” Evelyn said. “I'm here because Mira knows me and Adrian asked whether I could speak to what I've seen. Mrs. Fenwick is the one who can confirm her regular childcare hours.”
ㅤ
I looked at her. She hadn't needed a reminder.
ㅤ
***
ㅤ
Bellamy asked Mira whether she liked the apartment.
ㅤ
“It has flowers,” Mira said.
ㅤ
“I've heard.”
ㅤ
“And Daddy's mattress doesn't hurt his back now.”
ㅤ
“That sounds useful.”
ㅤ
“Mommy ate soup there.”
ㅤ
Bellamy glanced at Evelyn, then returned to Mira. “Is there anything you don't like?”
ㅤ
Mira thought carefully. “The stairs. Uncle Marcus says they're his enemy.”
ㅤ
For the first time, Bellamy smiled.
ㅤ
She didn't ask Mira to explain why she called Evelyn Mommy. Instead, she confirmed that the provisional registration remained in place while the office continued reviewing documentation. The housing arrangement could continue under the approved lease. There would be a follow-up before the thirty days expired, and she wanted an updated income record then.
ㅤ
“No permanent guardianship determination today,” she said, looking at me. “The provisional registration and the housing approval are separate from that question.”
ㅤ
“I understand.”
ㅤ
“Nor am I making one by accepting this address. Please bring the updated income record to the follow-up.”
ㅤ
“Understood.”
ㅤ
I'd feared those words for days. Hearing them clearly was easier than guessing what she meant.
ㅤ
***
ㅤ
Outside, the rain had softened to a mist. Mira stepped between us and looked from Evelyn to me.
ㅤ
“Are we going home?”
ㅤ
“Yes,” I said.
ㅤ
“Our home?”
ㅤ
“Our home.”
ㅤ
She pulled us toward the eastern gate. Evelyn let herself be pulled for three steps before asking Mira to slow down on the wet stones.
ㅤ
At the market, we stopped beneath an awning. I thanked Evelyn for coming.
ㅤ
“You don't need to thank me every time,” she said.
ㅤ
“I know. I still want to.”
ㅤ
Mira tugged my sleeve. “Can Mommy come for potatoes?”
ㅤ
Evelyn looked at me. “Is that an invitation?”
ㅤ
“Apparently.”
ㅤ
“I'd like to.”
ㅤ
We bought enough for supper. Mira insisted on carrying the smallest one in her pocket, as if she'd personally secured our future.
ㅤ
When we reached the apartment, she ran to check the marigolds. They'd survived the rain.
ㅤ
I put the welfare folder on the table beside our keys. The review hadn't answered where Mira came from, and it hadn't made the next month's budget balance. It had given us a date, a set of conditions, and room to keep building a life while we looked for answers.
ㅤ
Evelyn hung her damp cloak beside mine.
ㅤ
“Where do you keep the pan?” she asked.
ㅤ
I pointed to the kitchen.
ㅤ
For once, I didn't feel the need to explain why I was glad she'd stayed.