One day, I was returning home from shopping; it was late evening and my family was extremely busy with work, so I had to think about the house all by myself. I vividly remember that day; some days before a huge villa was set on fire, the scent of burned debris could be smelled for days; they never found the culprit.

As I walked back home with a bag of groceries in my arms, a sudden voice called out from behind. "Joey?"

I turned around, the view completely stunned me. "A-Argenta?!"

She greeted me with a bright and radiant smile, waving her hands. "So you remember me!"

She looked extremely vibrant, nothing like the neutral expression of years before.

"Of course I remember you, I could never forget those eyes," I replied, pleased to see her.

She laughed. "What do you have here? Let me see!"

She quickly reached for my bag, snatching it from my grip. "Hey!"

"Relax, I'm just seeing what you got," she remarked, putting her face inside the bag. "Hmm, you have some delicious treats in here. Having someone over?" she almost seemed a bully.

"No, it's just what my father told me to buy," I explained.

"Hmm? Is that so?" she stared at me, her fingers lightly touching her lips as she displayed a grin.

I looked at her with wide eyes. "You're really Argenta, right?"

"Hmm? Yes, why? Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just... you've really changed... Did something good happen?" I was completely taken aback by her transformation. She seemed like an entirely different person.

"Well, I would be lying if I said something good didn't happen recently. And now I run into you, completely by chance. If karma exists, perhaps this is its doing,"

I didn't know what she was talking about, but something about her words made me slightly upset. "You didn't have to run into me by chance to meet me again..."

"Hmm? What do you mean?" she asked, looking puzzled.

"It's just that, ever since that day..." I couldn't bring myself to revive painful memories. I didn't want to mention the funeral. "Never mind..."

"Are you angry at me, Joey?" she suddenly asked; a question that completely caught me off guard.

"What? No..." I replied.

"Are you angry at me because I never came back to our usual spot?" she pressed, sensing my hesitation. Her tone was louder and serious this time.

"No! No, of course not!" I reassured her as I backed off. "I'm just surprised to see you like this. I mean... it's been more than four years. It's understandable you disappeared, but I didn't expect you to reappear like this. And I don't mean it in bad way! But... there had been days where I thought I would never see you again. And now you suddenly reappear, stealing my bag with a radiant smile. It's just strange," I admitted, nervously chuckling at the bizarre situation.

"Hmm, I see... Perhaps my happiness clouded my judgment. I was just so happy to see you again that I acted like nothing happened. Maybe we should talk a bit, don't you think?" she calmly proposed, offering a gentle smile.

"Huh, sure... I'd be happy to. Can I have my bag back, though? It's getting late," I asked, extending my hands to retrieve it.

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"Hmm, no," she replied, clutching it tighter in her arms.

"Huh?"

"Why are you surprised? We have to talk, I'll carry it. Show me the way," she said.

"Wha- I was thinking we could talk tomorrow, during a stroll, or something..." I confessed, hoping not to make the situation worse.

"What better way to have a conversation than over dinner? Come on, show me the way. Is it this way?" she asked, walking before even listening to my answer.

"Huh?! No, wait! It's not that way!" I shouted, panicking.

"Oh, so this one? Okay," she chuckled, adjusting her course in the right direction.

"Hey, Argenta! Wait, don't run!"

"This way?" she started laughing. She was definitely playing around!

In the end, she made her way right to my home's door. I was sweating, I was literally panting; reaching home had never been so tiring.

"So this is where you live, I never saw your home," she giggled.

"Seriously... what happened to you?" I asked her, chuckling. Despite the run, seeing her like that was somehow relaxing.

"Come on, open the door," she urged.

"Alright... you won. We'll talk during dinner," I conceded.

We stepped inside, and I started preparing dinner, while she intensely watched my every movement with her hands behind her back.

"I didn't know you could cook," she commented, breaking the silence.

"My parents are getting busier each passing day at work, so I've been taking care of the house all by myself," I explained.

"Where are they now?" she asked.

"Still working. I don't even know if they'll come back for the night... They might end up sleeping at work again," I sighed; it was getting worse for them.

"You don't seem happy about it," she noticed.

"I'm just worried about them. But we should be catching up about us, not my parents."

"Well, the dinner is not ready yet," she murmured.

Resigned, I continued preparing dinner while she offered to set the table. At dinner, we sat face to face, the table between us.

"Thanks!" she exclaimed before taking a bite.

I began eating as well, too, patiently waiting for her to converse, but all that came out of her mouth were compliments about the food.

"Argenta... I'm happy you're enjoying it. But I thought we were going to talk," I confessed.

"Joey..." she shook her head. "Don't you think it's bad manners to speak with the mouth full?"

Now I was confused. "But you said that dinner was the best way to have a conversation..."

"Yes, but you also have to think about the topic. Don't you think that talking about the past is a bit sad? I'm not ruining your tasty meal, Joey," she reasoned.

"Argenta... come on, why are you avoiding it?"

Seeing my mood going down, she suddenly stopped, setting the cutlery on the table.

"Joey, how would you react if I said all of this was a lie?" she asked me; her eyes and tone serious.

"Huh, what do you mean?" I tilted my head.

"Let's suppose... I orchestrated all of this just to get a nice meal. How would you react?" she said as she leaned forward, resting her head on her hands.

I couldn't exactly think of an answer as discomfort enveloped me. "I couldn't imagine you doing something like that; I'd be confused. If you wanted a meal, I would simply offer it to you. I mean... I still consider you my friend. and it would hurt to think you felt the need to resort to such methods with me," I sincerely replied.

Her lips turned into a soft smile. "I'm glad... You haven't changed a bit, Joey."

"Argenta... I'm confused. What are you trying to say? Are you just teasing me? Or are you being honest? I know people can change, but... I'm finding it hard to even recognize you," I confessed, my voice starting to tremble.

She chuckled. "Don't worry, that was a lie. The truth is that I'm really happy to have run into you, Joey. And it's also true that I'm here because I wanted to talk to you. I consider you my friend as well. But like you said, people can change... so I wanted to make sure you shared the same sentiment."

"Then... please just be honest. It seems like you're only avoiding having a real conversation."

"Then tell me, Joey. What do you want to talk about? What do you want to know? And I want you to be honest with me, just like I will be honest with you."

I stood silent for a while, taking a moment to gather my thoughts, along with a deep breath, before giving an answer. "I want to know... what happened to you. You vanished for four years, Argenta... Every weekend I went to our usual spot, hoping to see you, but you were never there. I wanted to help you the same way you always helped me, to be there for you. But I couldn't... And I thought I would never see you again," I stopped, my gaze shifting downward before facing her once again. "But I want you to know that I don't blame you for it. I'm sure it's been difficult..."

She closed her eyes, exhaling softly before meeting my gaze with a gentle smile. "Joey, I will tell you the truth, but it will have to wait until tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning? How come?"

"I need to show you my home for it, and now it's late. So it will have to wait," she clarified.

I sighed. "Alright... I'll wait."

Afterwards, we talked a bit about life. Eventually, it grew late; she asked if she could've stayed for the night, and used the guest's bedroom.