Aside from the whole lonely highway being a one-way ride with occasional U-turns, it also had weak mobile reception. Shun found it the most suitable to call Dan, since only Dan knew the road to the summer house very well and happened to have a truck. Come on, Dan. Answer your phone.

The dial tone resounded and ended with a response. "Hi. Who's calling?"

"Dan, I need your help. My car died out in the middle of that old highway, and-"

"Why are you even there, Shun?"

"Don't ask. Just get here with your truck and the tow hook. Make sure you have a lot of fuel in the gas tank."

"Fine. Just don't go anywhere."

How can I? Even if I could, I wouldn't go far until I've completed what I need to complete. Shun waited silently with the echoes of raindrops in his car. I need to go back to the entrance of that town right now, but what if she's long gone by then? He saw a red truck drive up the highway and brushed his thoughts away.

Shun stepped out and took an umbrella as Dan attached the hook on his tow truck onto the bumper of Shun's car. "How did your car break down?" Dan parked his truck behind Shun's car and stepped out. "And what are you doing here?"

"Originally, I was only here to see Joe to fix some leaks in his summer house, but I got more than I expected."

"What does that mean?"

"Do you still remember Alice?"

Dan suddenly raised his eyebrows. "What about her?"

"I think I just saw her earlier."

"Seriously?" Dan looked around and crossed his arms. "She moved away years ago, and never came back. I can't believe you still remember that."

"Apparently, you do as well."

"Only because she still owes me a dollar. What makes you so sure it's her?"

Shun took out the wet towel and sapphire necklace. "Here. She always wore asters on her, and the towel is smells like it. This necklace is absolute proof."

"Let's drag this car back to my auto shop."

"I'm not going there."

"Then where are you going?"

"Somewhere particular. I'll give you the directions from the passenger's seat."

Once Dan and Shun got on the tow truck, Dan drove off in the direction of the town of Sunshine Point.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

The wind chimes echoed softly in the gentle wind. Thick clouds created moments of cloudiness and sunniness as they drifted past the sun in the sky.

"Kick the ball over here!"

"No! You should go over there so that I don't break anything."

"There's nothing here to break anyway. It's safe."

"I don't want what happened last time to happen again."

Children's voices filled the place as the kids played a messy game of kickball. A girl with turquoise twin-tails watched them from the distance on her porch. The kids were just adorable, and she thought back about her childhood as well. I wish I was a kid again. I would have all the freedom to play nonstop and enjoy life to its fullest.

But with an injured right leg, even walking around the house was difficult, especially since her house had two floors. If I was still a child, I'd still have my parents here taking care of me.

"When are we going to eat something?"

"I'm hungry, too."

"In a minute. Keep playing until you're tired," she replied.

The girl went inside and prepared a plate of chocolate chip cookies and some fresh lemonade. She placed them on a metal tray and proceeded outside again, but stopped to looked at a picture hanging up on a wall. The picture featured the same twin-tailed girl but slightly younger, standing next to a redhead. It was truly a sad story of how the girl's friend was involved in an accident, and she never got over it.

Outside, the kids continued to play kickball, only now it looked more like dodge ball. From the corner of her eye, she saw two boys walking in. "We have some visitors coming. It's just like what this drawing says." She unrolled a piece of paper to reveal a crude crayon drawing of two people, one with brown hair, the other with black. "I think they're here to visit you, Alice. Do you see them?"

"I see them, Runo." replied a weak voice. "Very clearly..."

But that was just something that echoed in her mind.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

The man closed the door of the delivery truck and got into the driver's seat.

"Alice, do you really have to leave? I don't know what to do without you here."

"I'm sorry, Shun, but this choice isn't up to me to make. My grandfather already planned for me to move with him now that both my parents died. I have no other relatives except for him." Alice took a deep breath and continued. "I don't know what to do without you, either. You're the only person here who knows me really well."

"Same goes for you."

"Alice!" Dr. Gehabich called. "Hurry up! We're leaving in five minutes!"

"Okay, Grandfather." Alice faced Shun and said silently, "If you want to cry, then cry. Grandfather lives very far away from here, and I might never come back. We might never see each other again."

"I can't cry now. I don't want you leaving seeing me like this. It's bad luck."

"Who said that crying before departure is bad luck? I might as well break every mirror in your house before leaving."

"And I wish that all the fragile glassware and other stuff fell down and broke while the truck is driving off. That's what I call karma."

"We can always buy more of that at where my new house is."

"But you'd be wasting your money, so it's bad luck either way." Shun placed his hand on Alice's face. "Save the tears for when you get to your new house. Like I said, this is probably the last time we'll see each other, so make it sweet and last."

"I know it's not much and doesn't suit you, but keep this." Alice reached into a coat pocket and pulled out a charm bracelet. "Think of me when you look at it."

Shun took out something from his pocket as well and handed it to Alice. "I will, but I want you keep this. This is one out of two pieces of a pair of jade koi fish that my mother gave me the other day in the hospital. You keep this piece while I keep the other." They hugged each other for the last time. "Bye, Alice."

"Bye, Shun." Alice got on the backseat and closed the door. From that moment when the truck driver drove off, they never saw each other again.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

"Thank you very much." Now that Shun's car was safe with a roadside mechanic, Dan and Shun continued down the road for a minute until they reached Sunshine Point. "There, that's it. This is the place where I dropped her off. Just park here and go."

"Okay, I heard you." They got off the car, and Dan handed Shun an umbrella. " This place is called Sunshine Point? It looks so gloomy. Why would Alice live here?"

"I don't know, but I'm certain that I saw Alice come here."

"Did she say anything?"

"No, nothing. I wanted to start a conversation, but she wouldn't talk."

"Maybe it's because you haven't seen each other in a long time, and she thinks you're a stranger. That's why she doesn't know you."

"Dan, just keep walking."

The entrance was a dirt path walled by tall hedges that split in the middle for where a gate stood. Further down along the road were short, one-story houses that were in decent condition. Down the street was an eight-story hospital. Across from the hospital was a church surrounded by a tall metal fence and gate. Little movement was seen from the playground a block away.

"Hey," Dan asked. "Are those kids playing ball over there? Let's talk to them."

Shun glared at Dan. "What kids? There's no one there at-"

Suddenly, Shun and Dan heard a creaking sound, possibly from a wooden plank. They turned their heads to the right to see a blunette girl looking at them from the top stair of the porch. "Are you looking for someone?"

"Yes, we are." Shun replied. "We're looking for-"

"Alice?" Dan and Shun's eyes widened, and the two gave each other a look and looked back. "I know where she is."

"Can you help us find her then?"

The girl stared into the distance at the children and replied, "Of course I can, only..."

"Only what?"

"Only she might not want to see you."

The blunette made emphasized the last word so that it was meant for Shun to hear.