"It's a memorial."
"Oh... is it someone you know?"
"Yeah... me!" he said, shaking. "My family, my friends... they all think I'm dead!"
"Well come on then," said Stella impatiently, trying to pull him away. "Let's go and tell everyone the good news."
"Can you guys give me a minute? Just go on ahead, and I'll catch you up."
"Sure... we'll give you a shout if we find something."
As they continued on the path, Stella said to Brandon, "I can't wait to see his home. I hope it's near."
"Hmmm... maybe she'll know," he replied, pointing to a pretty teenage girl with long black hair making her way from the river carrying a pail of water. "Excuse me, miss," he shouted as he ran towards her.
"Ooh, visitors! Welcome!" said the girl cheerfully with a beaming smile on her face. "Are you here to compete?"
"Compete?"
"Yes. We're holding our annual martial arts tournament this weekend. Are you here for that?"
"No. Sounds cool though - maybe we'll check it out later. Anyway, we're looking for An-Chuan. Is it near here?"
"An-Chuan? Yes, that's my home. Please, follow me!"
"Okay guys, let's go." said Stella. "Oh wait - we're missing someone! MUSA! TEGRYN! COME ON, WE FOUND IT!"
The girl let out a little gasp as she heard this and stared at Stella, looking slightly shocked.
"Tegryn?"
"Yeah, he's our friend. He's around here somewhere - if he hasn't got lost again. TEGRYN, HURRY UP!" Stella yelled.
"But... that was my brother's name."
"No way!" Stella exclaimed. "Wow, that's an amazing coincidence!"
"Wait a minute!" said Charlotte, pointing at the girl. "You must be Mei!"
"Well yes, that's right - my name IS Mei" said the girl "But... how did you know?"
But before anyone could answer, Musa and Tegryn walked around the corner. Mei looked over to them, staring in disbelief at the tall young man walking her way. Her pail clattered to the floor.
"Brother?" Mei whispered under her breath, scarcely able to believe her eyes.
Tegryn stopped and stared at her in wonderment. A huge smile broke out across his face as he recognised his dear sibling. "Mei?"
"Brother!" she shouted happily as she sprinted towards him.
"Mei!" he shouted back, holding his arms open. Mei didn't need asking twice - she ran straight to him, and they hugged each other, jumping up and down in joy as they did so. Mei laughed uncontrollably as she cuddled Tegryn as hard as she could, but then, in the raw emotion of the moment she suddenly burst into tears. All this unexpected happiness was simply too much for her - after all, she'd only gone down to the river to collect some water, and instead she'd found her darling long-lost brother who she had given up for dead years ago.
"Let me get a look at you," Tegryn said eventually whilst gazing at Mei's face. "Wow... you haven't changed a bit."
"You have." she replied, wiping her tear-soaked face with a grin. "You're even uglier than before!"
"Yup... that's my sister all right!" Tegryn chuckled as the group exploded into laughter.
Mei gazed up at her brother. "This is amazing. We all thought you were swept away in the river, but... you got lost, didn't you?"
"Yeah, just a bit. Luckily, this little cutie found me." he said, putting his arm around Musa. "Mei, this is my girlfriend Musa."
Mei gasped in admiration. "Oh, my big brother has a girlfriend... and a pretty one too! Welcome, my sister!"
Musa giggled as she gave Mei a warm greeting hug. "This is so cool - ever since Teggy told me about you, I've so wanted to meet you!"
"Teggy?" Mei asked, puzzled.
"Yeah, you know - Tegryn."
Mei laughed as she looked at Tegryn. "Teggy... yes, I like that!"
As soon as Tegryn finished introducing Mei to his friends, she grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards the village.
"Come on! All our friends are going to be so happy to see you! You remember, Zi, Lin, Fan, Pui Yin, Shen, Zhou..."
Tegryn stopped abruptly.
"Pui Yin?" he said with a look of horror on his face. "Oh no... I'd forgotten all about her!"
"Why?" asked Musa. "What's wrong with this Pui Yin girl?"
"Nothing really, but... oh man, I don't know how I'm going to face her."
"Why not? Didn't you two get along?"
Tegryn shook his head.
"It's worse than that... she was my girlfriend!"
"Your girlfriend!?" said Musa, feeling just a tiny bit jealous that her Teggy could love anyone but her. "Well, surely that doesn't matter any more, right?"
"That's right" added Bloom. "After all, it's been years since you saw her, right?"
"True... but we were still dating when I... you know, got lost. We never actually broke up."
"Ah. Now THAT could be awkward."
"Yes, unless... Mei, does Pui Yin has a boyfriend right now?"
Mei shook her head.
"Well, has she dated anyone since I left?"
She shook her head again.
"Please, at least tell me she's moved on." Tegryn asked with a tiny hint of desperation in his voice.
She shook her head once more. "No, she said she would never love anyone else while there was a chance you were still alive."
"But, that memorial back there - you all thought I was dead."
"She didn't. She never accepted it. She never gave up hope that one day you would return to marry her."
"MARRY HER?" Tegryn buried his head in his hands. "Oh man... this is getting heavier by the second."
"Don't worry... I'm sure she'll understand," Musa said, trying to soothe him. "Just make sure you never let go of me while you're here!"
Tegryn chuckled. "As if I needed reminding!"
"I have an idea." said Charlotte. "Why don't you just make sure you avoid her - after all, we'll only be here for a day or two. Surely it won't be that hard."
"It's a bit nasty and I'll have hell to pay if she does spot me, but it's worth a try, I guess." he said. "Ah well, let's hurry up and get to An-Chuan. I can't wait to see how Grandmother is!"
"And I can't wait to see this martial arts tournament." said Riven. "I might even enter, just to show you lot just how good I really am!"
Mei laughed. "You'd have to beat the champion first, and that's easier said than done!"