"Hi honey," said Haley hugging Vincent. "Hi, now we only have to wait for..." "For?" came Nina's voice who came along with her husband and his sister Rin. Vincent and Haley had gotten married. Nina married a guy she fell in love with at work called Fei. Caren married a guy her parents chose for her called Mike. Gin was currently dating someone he met during a work trip called Alex. And Steve was dating Nina's sister-in-law Rin. Ian watched as everyone chatted with each other which reminded him of his past with her.
"Stop running away and spend some time with us," said Vincent seizing Ian and stopping him from sneaking off. "When is your girlfriend going to get here," he added. "Alex said she would meet us there," said Gin. "Ian, when are you going to settle down? Its already been more than eight years since you graduated," said Nina's husband Fei. "Unless you're waiting for... ow..." he stopped in mid-sentence looking at Nina who had booted him. Fei looked around and saw that everyone was avoiding the topic. Switching the subject to wagering on who can drink the most and so on.
By the time everyone decided to head back it was already late at night. The roads were deserted since it was winter and the shops were closed. Everyone decided to stay over at Vincent's house which was near Ian's house. As they headed back chatting away, they saw Ian stopping. "Ian whats wrong?" asked Nina but he didn't respond. Nina glanced in the direction he was staring at. The others also followed the direction and stopped. They noticed a small kid bare and covered in cuts and dirt. Dragging on the ground striving to stand up.
Ian froze watching her. "It's not her. She would be a teenager by now. Besides this kid looks completely different. Don't confuse this one for that one," whispered Nina as Haley went towards the kid. Alex freaked out and hid behind Steve.
