Prologue

The view outside the airplane window was incredible. Patches of clouds, white as snow and as fluffy as cotton candy, littered the sky. At times, the clouds break, revealing the ocean beneath. It spread endlessly in every direction, reflecting the light from the sun like a pane of glass. Besides the low hum of the jet engines, not a sound could be heard. It was serene, and almost anybody would find themselves in peace just from looking out that window.

Serena Tsukino stared blankly out at the view, her forehead pressed against the cold, hard plexiglass of the airplane window. As stunning as it looked, she didn't care about any of it. She didn't care about the clouds, nor the glistening water, or even the continuous hum of the engines. All she was thinking about was home.

Serena sighed and backed her head away from the window, a red mark left on her forehead where it had been resting against the window. She looked to her left to the seat next to her. Empty. Usually, Serena would hate sitting alone on a flight, especially one as long as from Tokyo to New York, but this time she felt the emptiness to be comforting. As Serena turned her head, a strand of her golden-blonde hair fell in front of her face and she blew it away thoughtlessly.

Serena's hair, when straight, reached all the way down to her thighs. Even at that length her hair remained perfect, without a single split end or imperfection, a fact which she was always proud of. She has her hair pulled up in two large buns on the top of her head, with tails hanging out the sides. Serena grinned slightly as she twirled one of the long tails continuously around her index finger. She wondered what everyone would think when they saw her still wearing the same hairstyle they always teased her over all those years ago.

Quickly, her grin faded and her once sparkling blue eyes grew distant. It had been almost eight years since she had seen any of her friends. It has been almost eight years since she left her old life behind to start anew. Her eyes began to well with tears at the thought of seeing them all again. She did not know if she was excited, or nervous, or terrified, or some unidentifiable mix of all three. A sudden jolt woke her from her thoughts and thankfully so, as she was about to lose control over her emotions once again. She had lost count of the amount of times she burst into tears on the ten hours she had already been on the plane.

Serena thought deeply about all of her old friends and smiled. There was a point in time where they were inseparable. Serena never did have a sibling, but found herself lucky to have four friends who she could confidently call her sisters. Perhaps that was the reason she found the idea of seeing them all again so terrifying. How is it possible to continue where you left off after so many years had passed? A small part of her would rather maintain the memories of what the five of them had than replace them with new, possibly bad memories.

Serena's eyes once again welled with tears, and a small part of her was thankful that she neglected to put on any eye makeup. Even though she had not seen any of her friends for eight years, not a single day passed that she didn't think of them. There was always an empty part of her heart which had at one point been filled by them. It stood as a reminder of what she lost, like a phantom pain where somebody's leg once was.

"I wonder if they think about me?" Serena thought out loud. A man sitting on the opposite side of the aisle looked up at her from his book with a bewildered look on his face before shaking his head and returning his eyes to the newest Stephen King novel. Serena had expressed her thoughts out loud often during the flight, unmindful to the strange glances she had been receiving from the other passengers.

'Why would they?' Serena thought again, this time to herself. The truth was she never expected to stay in Japan for so long. Her mother is Japanese and Serena had gone to Japan to spend the summer with her grandparents. That was eight years ago. A summer visit turned into attending university. It was then that Serena discovered something she is passionate about: photography.

Her photos had been featured in magazines and on websites. Most of her photos are of nature; photos of cherry blossoms traveling with the wind; photos of birds bathing in small ponds; photos of mountains towering above the clouds.

One reporter once wrote that her photos 'capture the beauty of the world that gets lost in everyday life.' Serena had the article framed and hung it on her wall. Another time, she had received a letter from Mina in which she wrote, amongst other things, having seen one of her photos in National Geographic. Serena had read the letter over and over, crying every time. She had taped the letter inside her diary, where it was kept safe.

"Mina," Serena thought, again out loud. Serena remembered talking to Mina before she left for Japan. She had explained her reasons for going; a secret Mina had promised to keep. Serena could not explain fully why she chose to console in Mina and her alone. Perhaps it was her carefree nature, her genuine kindness, or perhaps it was that Serena saw so much of herself in Mina. Regardless, Serena was confident that Mina has kept word, even after eight years.

Serena smiled as she reminisced, her tears continuing to flow freely. Next there was Lita. Whenever Lita was around, Serena felt confident that she could do anything. Beneath her tough, yet beautiful exterior was an equally as tough and beautiful girl. She never allowed anybody's opinions to bother her, even when she was at one point ridiculed for her height. She always stood up for what she believed in, even if others didn't agree. Still, when she baked, she expressed such a love so powerful that just tasting her desserts could put anybody into a good mood.

Then there was Amy. Amy was every bit as smart as she was beautiful. Even as a child, she knew that she wanted to be a doctor, and worked constantly towards that goal. Serena remembers the shy girl she met as a child, and how much she had blossomed since that time. Even though she was incredibly intelligent, she had never at any point in time made Serena or anybody else feel stupid. In fact, Amy respected every one of her friends just as much as they respected her.

Finally, there was Raye. She was the daughter of Serena's mom's close friend, so naturally the two of them were raised together as friends themselves. In fact, she was Serena's oldest friend, even though they were nearly polar opposites.

"Stop being a crybaby," Serena could hear Raye say in her head. She was always criticizing her over something. Raye was stunningly beautiful, and was the envy of almost every girl, and nearly unapproachable to almost every guy. Yet underneath it all was a spoiled girl who would truly frightening when she didn't get what she wanted. Still, she had a soft and gentle side to her that very few got the honor of seeing. While it would be difficult to find a worst enemy, it would be impossible to find a better friend.

Then of course, there was him.

Just then a man's voice spoke throughout the plane.

"We are about to make our approach. Please take your seats at this time as we begin our descent."

Suddenly, a feeling of panic overtook Serena as realization finally hit that she was returning home. Soon, she would be standing in her old town, in her old house, and seeing all of her old friends. She wished that the pilot could turn around the plane, or that she could jump out with a parachute even; anything but to face the people she left eight years ago. Serena laughed nervously.

"I really am a coward, Raye," Serena said, another tear making its way down her check. Just then, the seatbelt light turned on, and a knot grew in her throat. There was no choice and she knew it. She was going home.