It was an unforgettable face.

He would never forget the expression that he used to see every day that always lightened up his day no matter how bad it was.

He loved seeing her warm smile every day and thinking that all his worries would be gone, even if only temporary.

There was no other girl who had have the same sunshine-orange hair or the same chocolate-brown eyes as her. She always wore a cluster of mauve asters in her hair. She was a patient and caring person. The only jewelry she wore was a sapphire pendant necklace proved her character.

Then she and her family moved away and never came back. He never saw her again, either.

Until...

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

"Hello?"

"Hi Shun. It's Joe. I need you to come by that summer house I bought a couple of weeks ago. Chan and I some technical issues that might need your help with."

"I see. I'll be there soon. Your summer house is past that old highway, right?"

"Yes, it is. See you then."

Shun hung up and put his phone away in his pocket. Shiori, who sat across from him at the dining table, sipped her tea one last time and stood up. "I should get going, Shun. It's about time that I go home. How are you and your friends doing lately?"

"Nothing other than the usual, Mom. I haven't seen some of them since last year when everyone came back for the reunion party Joe held at his newly bought summer house. But that was like a year ago."

"That is why I suggest that you all have another reunion party." She slung her purse on her shoulder as Shun opened the front door for her. "Think about it. Get everyone involved, no matter how far from Bayview they are. I mean it."

"Thanks, Mom. I'll ask Joe about it. Get home safely."

After escorting Shiori out the door, Shun packed some supplies to bring with him for on his way to the summer house. Shun locked the doors, entered his car, and drove off. In a few minutes, he entered a highway entrance and soon cut over to the exit lane below a sign that read Old Highway Path: Exit Here.

Shun's cell phone rang again. "Hello?"

"It's Chan. Joe wanted me to ask you for your opinion about another reunion someday. It's been a year, and Joe decided that we should all meet again."

"Hi Chan. That's a great idea. Even my mom was thinking about it. Dan and I will definitely go, but as for the others, I don't know if they're going to come back."

"They have to! It's a yearly tradition, remember? Joe already called Jake, Fabia, and Ren. Everyone else is still pending."

"Is that why Joe called me over? To plan a reunion party? I thought you guys had some 'technical issues' with the house. I'll help out either way."

"Well, yes. The pipes around the house are acting weirdly. We're stressing between that and the reunion. I'm at home making lunch. I'm glad that you're heading over to help Joe."

"No problem. That's what friends are for. But honestly, I find it strange that Joe and I would buy a summer house here."

"How so?"

"Well, a summer house is usually just for a place to stay for vacation, but around here is a lot of creepiness. Especially this highway. The last time I came, I was completely lost on how to get there and how to come back. It was early in the morning and late at night, the worst times of day to go driving."

"I agree with you on that, and I really have to go now. See you next time."

"See you then, Shun!"

Shun pressed on the gas pedal again to speed up but caught a flash of orange outside. What was that? He turned his head back to look, but there was nothing there. It looked like a person, but who would be traveling around here by foot? Shun ignored his thoughts and finally arrived in front of the Joe's summer house. He parked his car, got out, and knocked on the front door.

"Shun! Glad you're here." Joe greeted. "Did you bring wrenches?"

"I did. Let's go."

Joe led Shun to where the main problem was. "Here. This major leak is affecting the water flow around the entire house. Do you see that bolt right there? It's rusty and broken, but I can't remove it. Water flow is delayed all over, and I don't want to oil the bolt because it'll seep in and contaminate the pipes. I shut down the water, so it's safe to force it out now."

"That's a complicated problem." Together, Joe and Shun used every one of the tools they had in hand to remove the rusty bolt. It took a few hours and a lunch break to remove the old bolt and replace it with a new one. Once finished, Joe later walked Shun outside to his car.

"Joe, Chan told me that you called Jake and other people to get together for reunion. Is that why you're repairing the house?"

"Exactly. I hope they all can come by again like last year. By the way, you're welcome to stay for the night if you want. It's getting dark."

"I can't. I didn't bring anything else with me, and I need to go home now. See you next time."

Shun started his car and drove out into the highway. As he drove back, he suddenly noticed the same flash of orange he saw on his way to Joe's house. This time, Shun clearly saw a person with orange hair standing by the side of the road. Thinking about it gave him a headache as drops of water splattered on the windshield. The next thing that came was heavy rain.

Then he slowed his car down and parked to the side as Shun saw a girl draped in a wet jacket holding her hand out in front of his car. It was clearly a hitchhiker who had no way of getting to her destination, but Shun let her come in. Might as well help this poor girl since she's all alone in the rain. She opened the back-seat door and stepped inside. He handed her a fresh towel to dry herself.

"So where would you like to go?"

She coughed and pointed straight at the road, so Shun drove forward. From the rear-view mirror, Shun took a good look at her. That orange hair is the same as the pedestrian I saw earlier. But it was more than just that. For some reason, Shun felt like he saw and met her somewhere before. He pondered as she dried her fair-skinned face with his towel. She laid the towel next to Shun in the passenger's seat.

"What are you doing here so late in the day?"

Silence.

"Does your family know that you're here?"

More silence.

"Where should I drop you off?"

Shun tried his best to start a conversation with her, but she remained eerily silent. Something about her isn't right. If she was just another desperate hitchhiker, I would've just asked her to leave right there. Why do I feel like I need to take her exactly to where she needed to go?

The girl stared outside to the right with her chocolate-brown eyes. A few minutes later, a sign that read Sunshine Point: 1 Mile Ahead appeared. She wouldn't stop staring at the sign.

"Is that where you want to go?"

She stared at Shun strangely for a while but closed her eyes and stared outside again. Soon, he drove up to the entrance of a small town called Sunshine Point. She stared silently at the gate again as he unlocked the doors. She gave Shun one last look before getting out of the car.

"What's your name?"

She turned around and looked at the back seat. After that, she simply walked toward the gate and disappeared. This isn't normal. No one can stay silent for that long.

Then Shun suddenly took the towel and smelled it. The fragrance was of alpine asters. He stopped his car to see what was in the back seat. Shun reached and picked up a gold-chain necklace with a tiny sapphire pendant on it.

A sapphire pendant and alpine asters. Could it be...?

It had to be.

Alice.

Shun's instincts told me to turn around and head back to the town. I need to go back and find her now. I need to do this before I run out of time.

But then Shun's car suddenly died out on him...