---- Chapter 10 The shock of it all sent me into a fever the next day. Frank came rushing over, worried sick about me. He scooped up my feverish, unconscious self and rushed me to the hospital. When I came to, I saw Frank's anxious face and managed a weak, "Thanks for the hassle." "We're friends, Rebecca. You're all by yourself ina foreign land. Looking out for you is just what friends do." His words touched me more than I could say. Out of the blue, I blurted out that I wanted to go home. Frank got the wrong idea, thinking I was pining for Thomas. ---- Seeing his look of exasperation, I quickly set him straight, telling him I just had some unfinished business back home. Frank seemed half-convinced, but eventually, his face turned red as he stammered, "Well, once you've sorted everything out, you better come back, okay? I'll be right here waiting for you." I got the earliest ticket I could find. I pieced together the old clues from Samuel's kidnapping. I then found myself standing in a graveyard. A photo of a 17-year-old boy smiled brightly from the tombstone. He was strikingly handsome, his grin lighting up the gray. I laid the white chrysanthemums I had brought on his grave and bowed my head in a silent, heartfelt tribute. ---- As I turned to leave, I bumped into Tracy, who had just arrived to pay her respects. Her eyes widened in shock. "Rebecca, you're back? " I brushed past her without a word, intent on leaving, but she clutched at my hand with a fierce grip. "Rebecca, Thomas has been scouring the Internet for you, posting messages everywhere. Did you know? "T thought he'd gone abroad for work, not to chase after you." Tracy's laugh was sharp with scorn. ''He's so stubborn, won't even admit he's been head over heels for you all this time. "you know, everyone's been saying he's lost it. He's landed in the hospital for drinking too much, more times than I can count. Any hint of you, and ---- he's off, leaving the company behind to drive around searching. Dad chewed him out, and threatened to strip his shares away. "Dad's had it with him. I should be happy, right? But maybe because I'm staring death in the face, seeing him fall apart... I just can't feel a thing." I wrenched my hand free, my voice icy. "Tracy, we've got nothing to talk about." She looked like she had swallowed a lemon, but she did not say another word. I walked away from the cemetery, from the past. I bought my ticket out of there. However, just as I was about to step onto the plane, a familiar voice stopped me in my tracks. Thomas stood there, his face alight with hope and surprise. "Rebecca, you're really back!"