There is an old Chinese belief that an invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet. Wei never put much faith in that story — until the Mid-Autumn Festival, when a paper lantern drifted off course and landed at Mei's feet.

She laughed. He apologized. They talked until the lanterns had all gone dark and the crowds had thinned to nothing. By the time they said goodnight, neither of them wanted to.

Three years later, at the same festival, Wei tied a red thread around Mei's wrist and asked her to keep it forever. She's never taken it off.