In a quiet corner of one of New York’s upscale restaurants, the five friends sat around a round table, while the city lights fractured across the wide glass behind them, scattering like shards of gold suspended in the dark.
The waitress set the last of the dishes before them, then withdrew with light steps, as though granting silence a brief chance to settle over the table before conversation returned.
Guanda lifted her head from her plate and let her gaze move across them one by one, then said with a calm smile:
“So, what are your plans for tomorrow?
Do we go back to the cinema, or do we give the city a little of our time and lose ourselves in its streets?”
Ben leaned back slightly, then rested a hand on Clark’s shoulder in a passing gesture that felt more like reassurance, while Clark remained sunk in his lowered gaze, his fingers moving with silent hesitation.
Ben smiled and said, “I’m thinking we should spend the day at Clark’s place.
A bit of PlayStation, and a break from all this noise.”
Guanda’s eyes moved toward Clark for a quiet moment, then her face lit up with sudden excitement as she said, “Then I’m coming too.”
Ben’s smile widened.
Then he turned to White and Nerf and asked in a light tone that carried an unspoken invitation, “And you two?
Are you coming with us tomorrow, or does each of you have another path?”
White nodded in agreement, then turned to her sister and said, “And you, Nerf?”
Nerf had been watching Clark in silence, pressing her lips together, a faint blush rising in her cheeks as though some thought had caught her off guard in that instant.
“Nerf?”
At her sister’s voice, she came back to herself, quickly lifting her gaze, then nodded with a shy smile and said, “Yes…
I’ll come with you tomorrow.”
They exchanged brief glances and smiles, and then they all agreed to meet at Clark’s house the next morning.
And as the clock drew near eleven at night, the friends parted with a quiet farewell.
The rain was falling heavily, and the cold settled over New York’s streets like a thick veil.
White and Nerf took a taxi, Guanda left with Ben, while Clark walked alone across the wet pavement, the yellow streetlamps glinting beside him.
He had his hands buried in his coat pockets against the cold, making his way toward his grandfather’s house.
The streets were nearly empty now, and the only sound left was the rain striking the ground.
Suddenly, a speeding car passed close beside him, splashing the pooled water on the road over his clothes.
He sighed in annoyance, shaking the drops from his coat, then muttered, “Idiot…
does he not know how to drive?”
He had only taken a few more steps when his pulse suddenly quickened for no clear reason.
He stopped where he was and slowly turned, looking behind him and around, but saw no one.
He remained silent for a few seconds before going on, yet the uneasy feeling did not leave him, as though something were watching him from within the night’s shadows.
He swallowed hard, trying to convince himself it was nothing more than an illusion.
A few minutes later, the taxi stopped in front of their house, which stood in one of the neighborhoods close to Ben’s home.
White pulled out fifteen dollars and handed them to the driver, thanking him before opening the door and getting out with Nerf.
The two sisters closed the car door, then walked quietly toward the house as the taxi pulled away into the rain.
White shut the front door softly.
Even though she was nineteen, she carried herself with a steadiness that always made her seem older than she was.
Nerf looked at her with sleepy eyes and said in a low voice, “Good night.”
White smiled faintly and replied, “Good night to you too.”
Nerf went upstairs to the second floor and headed toward her warm room, while White remained downstairs.
She put the house keys away, then her eyes fell on her mother, who was asleep on the couch in the living room, the television still left on.
She exhaled softly, switched off the TV, then fetched a light blanket and gently laid it over her mother before turning off the lights and going to her own room to sleep.
On the other side of the city, Ben dropped Guanda off at her house, which stood on the very next street over from his.
He stopped in front of the door, then smiled and said, “All right, I’ll come by tomorrow afternoon.
How does that sound?”
Guanda smiled, tilting her head slightly as she answered, “With pleasure.
Goodbye…
see you tomorrow.”
She waved before going inside, while Ben stayed where he was, watching until the door closed.
A wide smile spread across his face, and he turned toward his own home, murmuring to himself, “She’s lively…
and kind too.”
He paused for a moment, then smiled shyly and added, “I wonder…
will Mom and Dad like her?”
…
Meanwhile, Clark had reached his grandfather’s house and knocked lightly on the door several times.
After a few moments, the door opened to reveal Max, an elderly man wearing thick glasses and carrying a prominent belly, his hair overtaken by gray, with only a few scattered strands left.
He stared at Clark for a few seconds, then frowned and said, “Who are you?”
“It’s me, Clark, Max…
come on, let me in.”
Max’s eyes widened at once, and he pulled his grandson into a hug, saying, “My glasses were covered in raindrops…
I couldn’t see you properly.”
Clark laughed, then teased, “Max…
can you ever see properly at all?”
The two of them burst out laughing, before the grandfather patted his grandson on the shoulder and invited him inside.
Clark helped Max up the stairs until they reached the bedroom, which held two beds: one large for Max, and another slightly smaller for Clark.
Max sat on the edge of his bed and put his breathing mask over his face, while Clark set his bag aside and began arranging his college books in preparation for sleep.
Max let out a long sigh, then said with a faint smile, “Getting old is a frightening thing, Clark…
don’t believe anyone who tells you it’s beautiful.
In the past, I had a strong body, and life was all ahead of me…
but now, look at me.
An old, fat man who can’t sleep without a breathing machine.”
Clark offered a soft smile as he put one of the books back in place, then said, “Don’t say that, Max.
To me, you’re still as wonderful as you’ve always been.”
A warm smile appeared on Max’s face, and he lay back against his pillow, breathing slowly before saying, “You know something?”
Clark turned to him in confusion.
Max continued in a calm voice, “Ever since you came to live with me after your parents died…
and after their bodies vanished in that strange accident…
I have never once felt like I was living alone.
Your presence filled this house with life again.
You’re a good boy, Clark…
and you deserve every good thing.”
Silence settled for a few moments, and Clark lowered his head without finding anything to say, sinking into the strange feeling that had taken hold of him outside.
But Max suddenly broke the silence, and a mischievous smile crossed his face.
“By the way…
how is that girl?
What was her name?
Wanda?
Or Maria?
I can’t remember anymore.”
Clark laughed and shook his head.
“Ha…
you mean Nerf, right?”
Max replied with a smile, “My memory betrayed me again…
damn old age.
Anyway, how is she?
Are you two still talking to each other?”
Clark answered with a smile, “I see her sometimes outside, but she hasn’t contacted me by phone for a week.
She doesn’t answer my messages either…
but she’s a really good girl, and shy, and she loves sleeping.”
Max let out a soft laugh, and then silence filled the room for a few minutes, broken only by the breathing machine as it filled the space with its steady rhythm.
After a while, Max said, “Tell me…
what’s on your mind?”
Clark gave a faint laugh, then replied, “Nothing…
don’t worry about me.”
Max shook his head with a smile.
“Come on, tell me.
I’m a good listener.
Your father used to tell me everything that happened to him during his day…
so don’t hold back on me either.”
Clark was silent for a few moments, then smiled faintly as he stared at the ceiling and said, “Well…
for the past few days, I’ve been feeling something strange.
As though there’s something watching me all the time…
and I don’t know why.
Do you think I’m imagining it?”
No answer came.
He turned toward Max and found him already asleep, his soft snoring mingling with the sound of the breathing machine.
Clark sighed with a small smile, then sent a message to his friends to confirm their meeting tomorrow, switched off his phone, pulled the blanket over himself, and closed his eyes.
Outside, the rain kept falling in silence, until the whole night seemed to be holding its breath, unable to know for certain that no one was watching him at all.