Chapter 1- Old Friends

The atmosphere at the reunion venue was like their prom night in their last year of school. The sparkling lights give a romantic feel and the mellow music enlivens the warm atmosphere of intimacy.

On this night there were many faces stored in memory that Sarah had to greet one by one. She had deliberately combed the place in every corner to make sure no old friend was missed for her to approach. Yes, among the other members of the reunion, Sarah was probably the busiest that night.

"Oh my gosh! How are you? We haven't seen each other in a long time! Where have you been?” With high enthusiasm, Sarah approached the collection of familiar faces to her and joined in the chat.

A little awkward with foreign feelings, because long time no see and dramatic changes in the figure she recognized before.

"Oh, nothing wrong! Where have you been? Why are you only joining the reunion now?” Said one of them, who also immediately recognized Sarah's face even though they had not seen each other for a long time.

The last news that friends heard about Sarah was that she decided to study abroad to study law. Then continue to take a master's degree and a career after completing education also abroad. Sarah rarely returns to her homeland if there is no urgent need, moreover, Sarah never meets old friends. Because when Sarah continued her studies abroad her parents also decided to move and settle there.

No wonder Sarah has been good at foreign languages since her school days. She has lived in Sydney for 14 years and only recently returned to attend this grand school reunion. Then Sarah will live in her homeland and have a career here too, that's the plan.

“Ahaha... Ouch, you've all changed a lot! So happy to be together again!!” Sarah said still with the same cheerful and enthusiastic spirit.

"Change? Not as young as before, aka old! Hahaha…”

The conversation flowed naturally by itself. The lapse of time in which they are far apart can't stop the rush of memories of school days that sometimes they miss so much.

"Oh Sarah, seriously! Where have you been all this time?” asked one of them excitedly.

Every year her classmates always hold regular meetings to maintain relationships. But Sarah never showed up or couldn't be reached.

"In the alumni group, your contacts are also missing. How are you now? How many children have you had?"

Sarah laughed as she took something out of her handbag. "Hush, careless! I was just about to send out invitations, how can I already have kids!”

One by one, they accepted the invitation.

“Oops! I see... No wonder you come this year, to give us some good news. Ah, by the way, congratulations!”

"Yeah, congratulations Sarah on the wedding! This is a great surprise, suddenly I met you with an invitation."

Sarah's wedding invitation card immediately got the attention of her friends.

“Ahaha... Thank you, thank you so much! I'm not late right, luckily I still invited all of you." Sarah jokes.

"Yeah, when it's an event like this, I just remember my friend! Haha..." Replied another joke.

"Uh! By the way, has anyone seen Lynd? I've been looking for her, but I can't find her." That's right, that one name kept replaying in Sarah's mind as soon as she set foot in the reunion venue.

No, even as she left the house she carefully packed an invitation with Lynd's name pinned on it. Someone who can't wait for Sarah to share the joy in her life's accomplishments.

"Lynd? Lynd Olsen, you mean?”

"Well, Lynd is in the same class as us."

No wonder Sarah's best friend are a little mistaken because Lynd's name at school didn't stand out at school.

Those who heard Sarah's question exchanged glances, as if gesturing to each other with responsibility to give Sarah an answer.

"Ah, that's right. You  don't know..."

Sarah's heartbeat instantly because of the change in the tone of her friend's voice, as well as the gloomy atmosphere surrounding her. There was a sense of dread as Sarah asked more clearly, afraid of hearing bad news.

“K-know what?”

"We haven't seen Lynd since we graduated either, like you. Lost contact and didn't hear anything. Nobody knows how she is now."

Sarah looked confused. “M-meaning? Can't anyone hear how she's doing or know where she is now?"

"Well, you're weird too. Ask her to any of us, isn't Lynd your best friend! If you don't know how can we are.."

Unfortunately, the words had some truth in them and sounded painful to Sarah. During these 14 years, it is undeniable that Sarah ignored the friendships during her school days. Thinking back now 14 years ago, approaching their graduation day, Lynd's behavior seemed odd, unlike her usual self.

Many things Lynd hid from Sarah at that time, Sarah's suspicions led strongly to family problems. Even Sarah remembers writing Lynd a letter to support and encourage her. Yes, before they graduated a lot of big and difficult things happened in Lynd's life at that time.

Sarah still had one hope, or a last resort, if she wanted to find Lynd-her best friend. In the last moments, the person who was closest to Lynd at that time and probably knows all the mysteries of what happened 14 years ago to her was Arte.

But unfortunately, since Sarah and Arte cut off their friendship, they never had any contact at all, either then or now. They almost forgot each other's existence if they didn't meet at the reunion tonight. But no, Sarah decided not to take that option. She was determined to find Lynd's whereabouts with her efforts and ways. Sarah was sure she could find her because she believed that they were destined to be friends forever.

At a distance of 3 meters from where Sarah and her friends were talking and exchanging news, there was someone who was quietly listening to the conversation. Not intending to eavesdrop, but when he heard Lynd's name appear in the chat he immediately felt the need to know what they were talking about too.

To be honest, that night he was also looking for Lynd at the reunion, really hoping that she would come this time. But as in previous years, he couldn't even meet her that night.