An old acquaintance

"Is this tree precious to you?"

I walked up to Lianne before she could notice. It was as though she was in prayer. She was hidden inside a cloak but I could never forget her.

She looked sad. I still couldn't see her face but her eyes were enough to convey the feelings.

"Hmm! Daarc! But they told me…!" She looked like she'd seen a ghost. Her eyes almost popped out but something about that made me ease up.

Told you? So it was that brat after all. But I shouldn't let my guard down.

She was startled and I couldn't make much sense of what she said. But she quickly composed herself and started talking slowly. "Th-they told me you fell in the sea during a storm!"

That made sense. I did fell in the ocean and almost no one could lie about that. However, how I fell down was a different matter. "Yeah. I didn't think I'd survive that either."

"But I'm glad. I really am!" She clenched her hand on her chest.