"Many times, sorrow not known to others could only be released in dreams as though it was engraved in the heart and no matter how hard you ignored it, it would explode at the slightest touch, erupting into million pieces, inflicting an unbearable and endless pain."


Blaze had always been an average student with mediocre grades and had entered a local university in Beverly Hills. Even though Amy and Blaze weren't biological sisters, they still came from the same ancestral home, and ever since Amy's parents died in a car accident, she had been living in the same house as Blaze, forming a tie akin to that of sisters.

Blaze left her hometown for Beverly Hills and would often call Amy and Sonic, inviting them to come over. After multiple invites, Amy and Sonic finally caved, flying over during winter. When they arrived, Blaze smiled and suggested they drive over over to LA for the day. Sonix had no objections and, since Shadow was there, Amy obviously didn't have any objections either. The three of them then headed for LA.

Sonic and Shadow were biological brothers with different mothers but they had always been close. With just a phone call, Sonic managed to successfully invite Shadow out. They stayed for four days and Shadow accompanied them through all of it. After spending four days and twelve meals together, Amy managed to get closer to Shadow in those few days than in the four years they had spent as schoolmates.

On the last day in LA, they visited the shopping mall. As girls, Amy and Blaze wanted to buy all the pretty things there and, since they had always been close to Sonic, who was rich, they spent his money mercilessly.

Spending a few thousand on a simple item was a usual occurrence for the three of them, but Shadow grew increasingly silent, the light in his eyes dimming as he saw them spending money so freely. In the end, he threw an excuse before going to the washroom. Sitting in one of the tiny cubicle, he took long deep puffs from his cigarette, quickly finishing the whole box he had in his pocket. Just then, they called to ask where he was.

In LA, Amy added Shadow on facebook and would often find an excuse to talk to him when she returned back to San Fran. Though they were only making small talk, the conversation never seemed to end.

As long as their hearts were close, distance was not an issue.


At that time, there was already a one hour train ride connecting Beverly Hills and LA. Hence, Amy would often visit Blaze in Beverly Hills when she could, and together they would make their way over to LA, stating that it was more fun there than Beverly Hills. Once she was in LA, she would log into her messenger to ask Shadow for a meal jokingly.

Every time, Shadow would accept her request, taking her and Blaze out to eat.

By the fourth year of her university, Amy had accumulated a thick stack of plane tickets from San Fran to Beverly Hills, train tickets from Beverly Hills to LA, and plane tickets from LA back to San Fran.

Each stack of tickets represented a meeting she had had with Shadow. Actually, the stack minus three would be the accurate representation for the number of meetings they had had. There were three times he could not make it to meet her.

The first time, she had went over to Beverley Hills as usual, but since she hadn't informed Blaze prior to her arrival, the purple cat had gone to France with her friends, leaving Amy alone in Beverly Hills.

Unfamiliar with Beverly Hills, she took the train down to LA. This was the first time she had gone down alone. Previously, she would always have the company of Sonic or Blaze. Throughout the entire train ride, she was trying to figure out an excuse to meet Shadow.

In the end, before she could think of an excuse, an excuse came to her. Due to her absent-mindedness, she realized only after exiting the train station that her wallet was missing. At that time, she was penniless and in an unfamiliar place. Instead of feeling upset, she felt glad that someone had stolen her wallet. Amy left Shadow a message and he asked for her location, telling her to stay there. She obeyed, standing at the exact same spot for nearly three hours until she saw Shadow rush over.

Shadow had rushed over clothed in an ancient costume. It was an extremely worn and dirty costume that attracted everyone's attention. Amy looked away, almost as if she was about to be embarrassed to be seen with him. Only after they entered a cab did she realize that Shadow in the middle of filming when he received her text.

Since Amy had lost her wallet, her identification card was missing as well. Without an ID, she wasn't able to check into a hotel. Hence, Shadow brought her to his rented apartment near his school. It was an old apartment that was relatively small. The interior was simple with just some basic furniture: a bed, a desk with an old computer on top, an open style kitchen, and a washroom. Once they reached the apartment, Shadow took a shower and changed into a fresh set of clothes, then signaled for Amy to shower before leaving with his wallet.

When she came out of from the shower, Shadow had already returned with a bag of food he had placed on the desk.