Finding something...and losing it. If they’re just two sides of the same coin, then why is it that losing something is so much more painful?

Prologue: The Path of Least Regret

Luke hadn’t shown up at the fountain where we’d agreed to meet.

Honestly, that realization shook me. This was a popular meeting spot, so there were a lot of people around on a Friday night like this. I saw others sitting on the edge of the fountain, waiting for somebody to come, but the difference was that somebodydid arrive for each of them, and they vanished away into the crowd in pairs. Even for me, waiting all alone by the fountain on a busy evening took its toll.

A man approached me casually.Oh, here we go... I thought, but then he looked at me with concern in his eyes.

“Hello there, little lady. Are you here by yourself?” he asked. “Is everything all right? Should I call for a guard to help you?”

How can he mistake me for a child when I’m dressed up all nice?! I clenched a fist in indignation.This isn’t right. The world is against me!

More importantly, I wanted to understand why the guy who told me to come here in the first place had never shown up. Surely it was the proper adult thing to at least contact me? This was unacceptable. I decided that Luke deserved a fitting punishment for putting me through this trouble.

He’s getting a smack in the face, for starters.

T