"You don't believe that thing protects you, do you?" asked Carla, eying the safe-driving o-mamori dangling from Liz's rear-view mirror.
"I dunno. Maybe? My friend in Japan sent it to me."
Later, they were drinking tea, watching the birds at Liz's window feeder. "It's also hard to say who's #relying on who," Liz said reflectively. "Like are these birds relying on me for food, or am I relying on them for company? Maybe some Japanese kami appreciates my using that charm."