For most of us, life is nothing more than a brief flash- first we 
live, then we die.  If time is a river, then we are no more than grains 
of sand caught in that river of time, carried along by the slow yet 
unstoppable current.  Soon, each of us will sink to the bottom of the 
river- forgotten forever, by both the river and the grains of sand 
which still float in the river's murky waters.

	On rare occasions, though, this is not the case.  Whether it be 
magic, or divine intervention, or simply luck, there are a few people 
who can step onto the banks on the river.  From their position on the 
side, they can sit and watch time flow by, themselves completely 
unaffected by the current.

	However, a consequence of being outside this river is that you 
are seperated from the world that flows inside the river.  You are 
forever alone- never able to get close to anyone or anything who is 
still caught in the current of time's river.  You would be lost to the 
rest of the world.

	You might look on the shore, to see if there was anyone else 
standing by the river.  If you were the only person not caught in the 
current, you might try to pull somebody else out of the river.  This 
could be difficult, though.  For how could you, completely seperated 
from the flow of the river, ever reach and grab a hold of somebody 
still trapped in its unstoppable current?

	If you were exceptionally lucky, you might be able to pull 
somebody else out even as you yourself escaped from the river.

	Or maybe I'm spouting nonsense.  I'm no expert in immortality, 
though I often wish I was.  My frail hands quiver with arthritis as I 
type, and I will be bedridden for the short remainder of my life.  As 
it is, arthritis is a lesser concern for me; cancer has ripped through 
my body.  The doctors tell me its course is unstoppable now, and I 
believe them.  My life will be over in months, if not less.

	In a way, I am ready to die.  I spent my life doing what I enjoy, 
and even if I only married once (for a brief time, back when I was more 
stupid than I am now) and had no children, I can generally look back on 
my life and feel contented.  I firmly believe that I am leaving the 
world a better place than I found it.

	This is not to say that I'm not afraid of dying.  I am- the 
thought terrifies me.  But a lifetime of experience has given me the 
courage and conviction necessary to face my death calmly.

	Besides, I tell myself, it is time for me to go.  My business in 
this world is finished... my will is taken care of, and my estate and 
the business that I have spent my life building up will be in good 
hands when I pass on.

	Still, though, I cannot help but worry about the one thing I have 
left unfinished.  You see, I know somebody who is sitting by the side 
of time's river, even as I slowly sink to the bottom.  Actually, I know 
two people.  Throughout my life, I fought to get a glimpse of them 
sitting by the bank.  Every few years I would hear some news of them, 
but rarely did I get wind of anything concrete.  I met them briefly 
only once, after a great deal of trouble, and the story of that meeting 
is a long one.  Still, that was many years ago, and a lot can happen in 
a span of decades.

	This is the one unanswered question that I leave behind, and even 
now it tears me apart.  Where are they?  I can only assume they have 
not been killed.  What things have happened to them, and what 
adventures and trials have they faced, over the fifty-odd years since I 
last knew them well?

	Back when I was young, they were two of my best friends.  We went 
through unimaginable crises together, but then life... fate... 
whatever, pulled them out of the river.  And eventually they 
disappeared from my world and my life, except for the occasional 
glimpse.

	This is the story of those glimpses, and it is my hope that by 
writing this down I- or someone else- can piece together their 
fifty-year story from these flashes of news and pieces of memory.  For 
I imagine that if it was completed, it would be an incredible story- 
and it would answer the questions that burn in the back of my head.

	My name is Ukyou Kuonji, and what follows is my memoirs as they 
relate to these two elusive people- Ranma Saotome and his wife, Akane 
Tendo.

-END TEASER-