Prologue

Patch was a small town. There were only a couple thousand people, a single movie theater, only a handful of schools, a tiny wealth of places to work, and, well, you get the idea. It was a small paradise on an island just off the mainland, and there were probably more trees than any other living thing – even throughout the town. During fall, the town was one of the most beautiful places a person could find. The trees would turn a bright, vibrant red before shedding their leaves, covering the entire town in a dense blanket before the winter. The whole town would have to come together to clean it up, and that was one of the most charming parts of Patch – the community.

Yang walks down a little path, tarmac nearly overrun with grass and dandelions, and crunched-up pieces of dead leaves. The path follows a river that cuts through the island, and during the day is usually completely unoccupied. Sometimes she would miss a class just to come down this path when life got a little bit too loud for her. She likes the noise, the party life, but even the wildest of people had to take a moment to relax. To slow down.

There's a little spot she likes, right at the edge of town. The river makes a sharp bend out towards the ocean and as if to mark this spot, a decades-old willow tree that stretches taller than any tree in the area stands. It has thick tresses of leaves which are just starting to turn yellow with the season. It's always the last tree to turn, despite being in full sunlight nearly every year. There was a little bench on the far side of the path that made for some quality pictures, but Yang always prefers to sit beneath the tree.

Today, however, she's not the only one. As she mounts the little hill before the foot of the tree, in her spot of flattened long grass is a girl with black hair. She wears a dark bow, and a white blouse with frills down the center, along with tight blues jeans with rips along the front of the thighs. Yang's lilac eyes widen ever so slightly. She's new to Patch, and of course, everyone had heard that there would be a new family moving in soon. She must've been their kid…

A crisp ocean breeze washes over them, rustling the leaves of the willow tree. Yang glances up to see the long branches spin in on themselves, yellow and green dancing together above them. The scent of salt and cut grass fills the air. As some time passes, Yang finally realizes with a blush that she's just been standing there.

Taking a couple steps forward, Yang drops her school bag at the tree's exposed root system. Another bag sits there as well, and she guesses it was the girl's. Turning towards the river, Yang steps forward quietly until she's beside the dark-haired girl. She sees that her eyes are closed, her chest rising and falling steadily. She looks peaceful. Yang plops down in the long grass beside her, stretching her legs out and looking down the long, flowing river in front of them.

After a moment, the girl murmurs, "I was wondering what you were going to do."

Yang glances towards her. Light dances across her face as the leaves rustle in the wind. The girl doesn't open her eyes, but Yang wears a small smile anyway.

Neither of the girls realized it then. For them, two strangers meeting would be just as regular as any other encounter. There was a force at work on them in that moment, however. A bond that formed without them knowing. And later in life, they would wonder at fate and the events that drove a boisterous blond and a quiet noirette to meet that day under the willow tree.