Prologue: Two More Lonely People

She sits alone in a compartment as the train meanders through a lush valley, a scarlet snake slowly making its way through an otherwise emerald landscape. She glances out the window as another girl, slightly taller, slides open the compartment door. The second girl sits as the first cracks open a book to an unidentified page.

The taller girl decides to speak before the other becomes too immersed in the words of the author.

"Mione? Mione?"

The girl finally looks up as the train passes a thundering waterfall.

"Mione? You're sure you'll keep in touch with my brother? He'll be heartbroken if you don't."

She smiles, nods, and returns to her book.

He sits alone in a compartment near the back of the train, shunned by others. They all know what happened in years prior: the pressure, his deceit, his struggle to feel adequate in their eyes.

But they were in prison, where they could not damage his mentality no matter how hard they tried. He could change for the better, if only everyone would give him a chance. A small girl, no older than twelve, scurries by and stops to glance in. She takes one look at him and instantly runs off.

He sighs. Can anyone let him reform?