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Most of her friends showed signs of weariness, and quite a few already slept.

Rhythmic beats of music told her that was far from the case with the youngsters.

For her own part Christina didn't feel tired at all. She never did this time of the year, and especially not in Sweden with its minuscule night. Three hours of relative darkness, maybe four depending on how your defined darkness.

Summer nights were longer in Japan. 'Shorter during winter though,' she mused.

She turned her head and looked at how Ulf and Yukio drunkenly chatted away in the darkness. From time to time a reddish light lit up Yukio's features. 'Smoking is bad for you, didn't Ulf teach you that?' Well, it couldn't be helped. He wasn't Yukio's father or anything.

'Staying up too late is also bad for your health.' She let her gaze linger on Ulf. He aged well, still looked much the same as during his high school days. 'Staying up too late, huh. I still don't understand how you kept your sanity during our first festival.'@@