What You Are Looking for is in the Library

by Michiko Aoyama

“Nothing is,” he replies, gently shaking his head. “Not one single job I could name is absolutely secure. Everybody just does their best to hang in there, trying to balance it all.”

“I remember sitting in the passenger seat, looking at you and feeling devastated because I’d been fired, when in fact I hadn’t lost anything. I myself was no different than before. I’d simply left the company I worked for. That’s all. I still had the option to derive joy from my work and happiness from spending time with my loved ones. It all just depended on me, and what I did from then on.