Rayan came over and looked at the fallen water bottle and the dazed Liam standing there. He shook Liam by the shoulder, finally bringing him back to reality.
"What happened to you, man? Why are you standing here like that?" Rayan asked.
Instead of answering, Liam kept looking around as if searching for someone. Then he turned to Rayan and asked, "Where is she?"
Rayan, confused, asked, "Who are you talking about? There was no one here except you when I came."
"Liam, what happened?"
"I bumped into someone on my way back and... she has the same eyes as her," Liam said.
"Like whom?" Rayan asked.
"Aisha."
"What?"
"I'm not sure if it was her or someone who just looked like her," Liam said.
"But how can that be possible? She died years ago. You need to move on from that incident, brother," Rayan said.
But seeing how Liam kept looking around, searching for the girl, Rayan realized his friend didn't hear a word he said. He couldn't blame him; he knew Liam had been blaming himself for the incident that happened 15 years ago. It was one of the reasons they had come here to study, far away from home.
"Okay," Rayan said, "if what you said is true, we'll meet her again. We're not going anywhere, and this island isn't so big that you won't run into someone a second time."
"Come on, let's go," Rayan said, putting his hand on Liam's shoulder and guiding him back to the tent.
"By the way, how is Lily?" Liam asked.
"Don't worry, she's fine now. After you left, we found a bottle of water under the pillows," Rayan said.
"Dude, where did you go to get water? It's been so long," Vickey said as they neared the tent.
"Nowhere, there was too much of a rush, so I got stuck," Rayan replied for Liam. Then, without giving them time to ask more questions, he said, "Are you guys done? Let's go. It's already late, and we have college tomorrow."
"Yes, let's go," Alex said, getting up. The others followed.
----
On the other side…
"Hey Lea, what happened? Why do you look so angry?" William asked.
"How else do you expect me to look? Some jerk out there bumped into me and spilled water all over my phone. Instead of apologizing, he just stared at me like he'd seen a ghost," Lea said, still trying to get her phone to work.
Seeing her frustrated expression, William said, "It's okay, chill. It's just a phone. We'll get a new one. Don't spoil your mood over such a small issue. We're here to unwind before your college starts tomorrow."
"Yeah," Lea said with a sigh, putting her phone in her bag. She walked towards a food truck with William.