The reunion long ago

That night, Lydia and Raylan both have a dream. A dream about what happened months ago, her and Raylan's first reunion.

At that time, it was nearly the end of Lydia's final high school semester and she decided to get out of town for once in a while. Of course, Raylan's town is too far for her to visit all alone. Especially when she didn't have a driver's license yet. She decided to stop at the brand new open coffee shop in the town next to hers. Her friends kept telling her how amazing cakes at that shop are. So she thought maybe she would give it a go.

Even though sweets are never Lydia's favorite. She loves bitter things like original tea or coffee. But her childhood with Raylan, changed her taste.

Raylan, on the other hand, is a sweet tooth kind of guy. He usually hides candies in his pocket without telling anyone except Lydia. To him, eating candy in front of others can ruin his mature image that he worked so hard to build. So he hardly eats any candies publicly.

But being with Lydia is different.

Their tea time always has the bitterest coffee and the sweetest sweet go together. Neither Lydia nor Raylan complain about the other's taste. In fact, they drink together so much that their tastes change to resemble each other. Yet, they never realize that. They only consider it as something normal happening to their lives.

Lydia stops at the coffee her friends were talking about. At first glance it's an aesthetic coffee shop with the name "The Forgotten Time". Hearing the name, Lydia can't help but giggles. This is definitely Raylan's favorite type of coffee shop. A vintage and somewhat mysterious one.

She smiled as she walked inside the coffee to the counter. The aroma of the coffee raised which made her pleased. She hadn't smelled anything with such a strong aroma like this for quite a long time. Feeling like it was hugging her, brought her to the enchanted world of her own.

Lydia chose one iced Americano as she didn't want to have too much first thing in the morning when she hadn't even had breakfast. And go along with it is a strawberry shortcake.

But as she turned around, she bumped into someone she never expected.

"Ray?"

She asked with her eyes wide open filled with surprise. He may look a little bit different than 5 years ago but Lydia can tell at first glance, that's Raylan.

Raylan was also surprised to see Lydia there. She's changed. A lots. She's grown up much more mature and even more beautiful than ever. Seeing her like that made Raylan blushed a bit.

It felt like fate was messing with him. He ran away, far from home to clear his mind. By the time he thought he could forget about her, she appeared in front of his eyes out of nowhere, all of the sudden.

He didn't and never hate her. But… it's too hard to tell the feeling within his chest.

"Good morning Lyly. Long time no see…"

Raylan smiled gently as he reached out, planning to pat on her head. But soon, his hand stopped, right in the middle of the air. She isn't a little girl like she used to be anymore. If he truly pat her head like the old days, would she be mad? So, with that thought, Raylan's hand dropped. His smile became somewhat awkward.

The same thing went for Lydia. As soon as she knew she got it right. It's no mistake that he was Raylan, she wanted to open her arms wide to hug and greet him. Yet, she didn't do so. Raylan's not the next door brother anymore. He's grown up into a fine gentleman. What if he hates the way she's clinging to him? She can't risk that.

"Yeah… it's been a long time…"

And so, the atmosphere between them just got more and more awkward. Raylan scratched his head while Lydia nervously rubbed her left elbow.

Only until the cashier asked whether he would place an order or not, their eyes broke apart.

"Oh… Yes! I'm sorry! One iced Americano and a strawberry shortcake please"

His gentle voice raised as he placed his order. After that, they both walked to the counter, waiting for their order to be made.

Normally, when one catches up with an old friend, they usually have a lot to talk about. Sometimes the subject is just simply asking how they are doing so that the other can update about their life.

Yet, Lydia and Raylan stay silent. Neither of them know what to say. Even a 'how are you doing' seems too far fetched for them.

Lydia chose to say nothing since there are too many things she wants to ask. Not only how his life is doing but also the reason he chose to move to another town far from home. Still, she just couldn't find the right words to start the conversation. She thought the same thing would go for Raylan. But, little did she know, Raylan stayed silent because he just couldn't bring himself to talk comfortably after 5 years of running away from home.

The waiter brought out their coffee and cake. Their hands reach out. Lydia took two straws while Raylan took two spoons. They naturally brought their order to the table near the window and sat down.

Without a word, Raylan put one spoon next to Lydia's cake. Meanwhile, Lydia plugged in a straw to Raylan's coffee. Even if they hadn't met for 5 years, each of their actions are still smoothly matched. 5 years at that moment seemed like nothing to them.

They acted so naturally that they didn't realize how harmonious they could be. Not even a word was spoken but it felt like they knew exactly what the person in front of them thought and they acted exactly as expected.

Time froze as they looked into each other's eyes. It's been 5 years, their appearances have changed quite a bit, yet they can tell at first glance that that's their childhood friend.

Just then, Lydia's phone buzzed.