Chapter 144 - Tell Me Im Not Dreaming (1/2)

The village was much more advanced than Abby would have expected. There were gas-lit streetlamps everywhere and the shops and houses looked like ones she had seen in some of the nicer towns they passed on the trip.

There was a public library too. That had to be Katie's influence. This world had bookshops, not libraries. The concept of letting someone rent a book for free merely for the sake of spreading knowledge was foreign here.

Her entire being tingled with anticipation. But how was Abby supposed to find her?

The majority of the people in the streets had the signature Kanta look but there were several blondes and brunettes mixed in that looked to be in their twenties or thirties. They must be the spouses of the second generation survivors.

In such a tiny, close-knit village like this outsiders stood out. People began whispering about the man with the silver hair and his female companion.

Only one person was brave enough to ask Toa who they were. He shrugged in response. ”Relatives of Katie's. Have you seen her around?”

The woman pursed her lips as she thought about it. ”I think I saw her go into the bakery a while ago but I'm not sure if she's still there. If she isn't, I would check the library. She's almost always there this time of day.”

Abby's heart pounded. So close. She was so close! They had passed the bakery on their way in. She thanked the woman before dashing off to the bakery, ignoring Blaise's protests to wait for him.

She saw Katie before Katie saw her. She was a beautiful but tiny woman with shoulder-length blonde curls and sapphire blue eyes and was wearing what looked like a short sleeved white peasant blouse with a navy blue skirt.

The novel had not exaggerated her looks one bit. She looked exactly like the angel Al had described her to be that day he saw her dancing at the beach.

Katie held a pastry bag in one hand and smiled happily at the little boy who held the other. A tall Kanta man who had to be Al held the boy's other hand and they swung him as they walked, making him giggle madly.

She looked up a moment later and froze, mouthing her sister's name in utter disbelief. Abby nodded, unable to speak around the lump in her throat.

The pastry bag slipped out of Katie's fingers and hit the ground. Right as her husband turned to ask her what was wrong she began sprinting across the street. She launched herself into her now much taller younger sister's arms with so much force that both of them fell to the ground.

”Please tell me I'm not dreaming,” she sobbed with a hand over her mouth.

Abby tightened the hug. ”You aren't. I found you. I actually found you! I can't believe you're really alive.”