"Follow me." The second we walked out of the Clinic, Angela took a sharp right and walked down the main street of town, looking over her bony shoulder every so often to make sure I hadn't bolted. I had a feeling that, even if I were to run, I could never get away. Angela had taken me on as her personal pity project, the lonely soul, and the recluse that she felt compelled to socialize. No, even if I took the opportunity to duck behind a building or just turn around and run, she would find me. She was my personal shadow.

So instead I opted to remain utterly silent, tuning out the brunette's incessant chattering and instead closing my eyes. I knew this town so well. I could walk these streets a blind man, and never once trip. The sun on my skin was disconcerting rather than comforting. Summer was simply too hot a season. I sincerely hoped that Angela was leading me somewhere that had air conditioning, a luxury introduced to the town a few years ago by an overeager salesman who tried to modernize Waffle Town. He succeeded in installing A.C. units and an occasional telephone, but other than that, the people of Waffle Island preferred to keep to their rural ways. I was proud of that.

I opened my eyes to see Angela stepping off the staircase behind the fishery, onto the sandy beach that bordered the entire town. "Come on," she said, beckoning to me. "There's a shortcut there." Of course, she needn't tell me that; there wasn't a solitary corner on the island that I was unaware of. I knew it would make no difference to tell her that, though, so I humored her and trailed after her. She slipped past the shelf of the main rock that separated Caramel River District from the town, and then back up to the pathway. It looked like she was walking back up to her house, and anxiety flashed briefly through my mind. Dear Goddess, not that mass of health-code violations, please. I'd like to survive this.

Instead of taking the necessary trail straight up to the rackety old shack that she lived in, however, she took a left, towards the namesake of the district, the river. "Are we…going swimming?" I ventured, rolling my eyes. In this heat, it would be appropriate, but my attire was not.

"No, silly." She grinned, obviously not noticing my indifference, or else she was as good as tuning out my attitude as I was at tuning out her voice. "Just trust me."

I almost choked. It had been a long time since anyone said that to me.

"We're almost there, anyways," she said, picking her way through a small section of bushes that blocked off a path that led behind the River District. She turned around to waggle her eyebrows at me, like she was leading an expedition to some never-before-seen area. At this point, I knew exactly where she was leading me, but again, I was humoring her.

She finally reached the extremities of the district, where the path ended and a huge slab of rock blocked the Ganache Mine District from the River. "Right through here." I obliged, ducking under a limb from a nearby tree and sidling on a narrow stretch of land.

Right behind where the path appeared to end, another one emerged if you crossed the barely-two-feet-wide ledge. This secluded area was shaped like a teardrop, the round portion headed by a waterfall, cutting into the mountainside. The grassy area ended right before a bridge began, leading up into a winding pathway. There was a spring up there, I knew, and it could be used for regaining stamina. City folk paid thousands of dollars to go to a spa for that kind of energy restoration, and we, the villagers of Waffle Island, had such a luxury completely free. It was a little ironic; city dwellers think themselves privileged and at an advantage over country bumpkins, but in reality, it is the other way around.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Angela breathed, looking directly at the waterfall. Her eyes glassed over.

"Yes, it is," I agreed. I could appreciate a beautiful thing, much to Angela's apparent surprise. Maybe she had picked up on my disgruntled demeanor, after all. In that case, I felt an ounce of guilt – I was acting childish, and she was simply tolerating me. In a see-through attempt to suddenly grow a spine and act mature, I straightened up and cleared my throat.

"I see you've found the waterfall," I said, clearing my throat. She turned to me, raising an eyebrow.

"I take it I'm not the first to stick a flag here."

"Hardly," I scoffed. And then I remembered – mature. The way a doctor should act. "I mean, no," I backpedaled, "Everyone in town loves this spot. Renee and Toby come here every Monday to fish. It's also a popular festival area."

"Oh? It hardly looks large enough to host an entire village." Angela motioned at the small patch of green that we were standing on.

"Well, you're right. Town events are held more at the beach, or in the square," I explained, sitting down on the ground. It was damp, but I didn't really mind. I had a closet full of coats to exchange for the one I was wearing at the moment. "The waterfall is more for-" I cleared my throat again, coughing a bit "-private events." Like the Firefly festival. Like where I went with Lea.

So many memories. I rested a hand fondly on the soft, supple ground. It seemed like yesterday that she and I had sprawled out here, watching the fireflies become stars in the sky, and kissing softly, like a secret.

Angela squirmed, uncomfortable. "Oh." She paused, and then took a seat next to me. "So like couple stuff." I nodded, and she ducked her head. "You have a pained look on your face," she informed me, smiling almost timidly. "I take it you have memories here."

"Memories as deep as the roots of the trees," I said. My glasses were sliding off my nose; I removed them and wiped the lenses on my sleeve, but didn't put them back where they belonged. "It was long ago. It is useless to talk about now."

"Memories are never useless," Angela objected. She flopped back on the grass, staring at the blue. The sun was falling in the sky, right over the peak of the mountain. It would be dark soon. "They're the only things that we take to the grave. That, and secrets." She plucked out a handful of grass and started splitting the individual blades down the middle, absently. "If something's important enough to come into the afterlife, then it's certainly important enough to recognize in, well, this one."

I looked over at her. "You've had some time to think about this, I see." She laughed and punched me playfully in the arm, something I was entirely unused to.

"Maybe I'm just a deep person, Jin," she said, smiling easily.

"Oh?"

"There's a lot you don't know about me," she said. "Just because you're a doctor doesn't make you an expert on every part of life. Including mine."

I paused. Did I really come off like that? I knew I was unapproachable, but to be completely standoffish and arrogant was another thing entirely. "I- I'm sorry."

"Nothing to apologize for. You didn't do anything wrong." She puckered her lips and concentrated on a star in the sky, barely peeking out. "It's getting dark," she said half-heartedly. "You should probably be heading back, huh?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I should."

"All right, then. I think I'll stick around here for a while," she said, closing her eyes. The sun was falling fast as I got to my feet, and I found myself unwilling to leave. Odd, considering my original displeasure at evening coming in the first place. But something had changed, obviously. I couldn't tell if it was a change for better or for worse; in either case, I wasn't a big advocate of change. I liked things the way they were, the way they had always been. Big life events weren't my cup of tea, so to speak. But lately, everything had been changing. After three or four exchanges, this girl, this city girl with the bright eyes and the easy smile, she was uprooting my life.

"Bye, Angela," I said, finally gathering my bearings about me. She waved. I sidled back into the Caramel River District and made my way into the Maple Lake District, right at the edge of this one, where my house was, rather than returning to the Clinic. I had some things on my mind, and could hardly concentrate on work at that very second.

One thing was for certain; I would not allow my guard to be lowered so easily.

But hadn't it started to break already? I would have to be more careful in who I let affect my life. Choose the wrong person, and they have the power to shatter everything that matters to you. And that power is a dangerous thing. It had been forwarded to another in the past, and she had used it in the cruelest of ways. Angela was no Lea, but what did I honestly know about this girl, other than she ignored my subtle criticisms and looked past my blaring flaws for the sake of spending time with me?

People had habits of showcasing their good qualities and masking their bad. It was simply human nature. It was also human nature to trample in order to get what one wants. I should know.

By the time I had pondered a majority of this, I had reached my small house. The door was unlocked, as it always was. There was no need for a padlock; no one would bother breaking in, and if they did, there was nothing to take. It was just me, the few material things I required to function, and the walls that knew entirely too much. Thankful to the Goddess that those walls could not tell tales, I decided, early though it was, to crawl into bed and try to sleep, futile an effort though it may be.