On the morning of the first of December, Kaeso again struggled to get up. The warmth of the bed was retaining him from getting back to reality. Half asleep, turning from side to side, Kaeso imagined the day at home, spent doing nothing. Just one day, when he could not be bothered by anyone, to focus on the future, not the past. The daydream ended as quickly as it started with a sudden thought about the consequences of such a decision. It definitely would attract someone's attention. He has already merged with the surroundings, become unnoticeable, faceless…, but the fear mixed with hope that someone will ask: "Where is Kaeso?" accompanied him constantly.

Staring at the calendar hung in the wardrobe, Kaeso stood still, flipping a pen in his hand. November finally ended, and all days were crossed. Then just with one tear, a new page with an overwhelming amount of blank spaces appeared. Two quick strokes, creating an irregular "X", made it a bit less uncomfortable view for Kaeso.

After a few more minutes, a sudden sound of a breaking pen spread across the room as Kaeso slowly leaned his head on the calendar. His hands were clenched, and the right one was slowly turning blue.

The winter holidays were about to start soon. It was when, without any hesitation, Kaeso was able to disappear. Now, the routine was going to keep him in the right mind. The 50 dollars were already waiting at the kitchen table, annoying Kaeso during the breakfast preparation. The dilemma of "cereal first or milk first" made him forget about them for a moment. He always put cereal first and then poured the milk. Maybe he was doing it wrong all this time…?

“What a stupid taught?”, Kaeso whispered, pouring the milk over the cereals.

"Did you enjoy your meal?" the cleaning robot asked, entering the room as soon as he ended the breakfast.

“Get out of here.”

“Let me help you with the dishes.”

“I will do it myself,” Kaeso raised his voice a little.

“I was created to save your precious time. Let me help you,” the robot kept insisting.

"Say one more word, and I will spend my precious time making sure that you won't be able to help anyone ever again," those words finally made the robot stop its attempts to help and leave the room.

After cleaning all dishes by himself, Kaeso went to the bathroom. Brushing his teeth, he usually had some time to take a look at the circles under his eyes. Dark purple shadows were so visible that they looked like an eyeshadow. Washing his face, Kaeso always paid special attention to this part of it. However, no amount of water and soap could erase them. The only effect he could achieve was changing their color for a few minutes. After vigorous scratching, irritated skin became intensive red.

He went down by elevator with a 50-dollar bill in his pocket and looked in the mirror again. The purple circles have returned. "Maybe some cream will help cover it," Kaeso thought as he stretched the skin under the eyes, revealing the dark veins beneath it. As soon as the elevator's door opened, he went straight to the front door of the building. Another hesitation made him stop for a couple of minutes. In situations like that, Kaeso wondered if it was already a panic attack or just his anxiety. No matter what it was, focusing on breathing often helped him to get through it. “Breath in, breathe out, breathe in…”.

When Kaeso opened the door, a faceless man appeared in front of him.

"Good morning."

"Morning," Kaeso's face did not reveal any emotions. He stepped back and held the door, making way for the stranger.

"Thank you. You are such a nice kid, you know. My children are completely different, ungrateful bastards…" he entered the building, still talking, but Kaeso was no longer listening to him. Then he suddenly staggered, stumbled, and hit the ground. The bottle of beer in his hand crashed.

"Fuck…", a faceless man tried to stand up but could not do it. "Give me a hand, young men."

All this time, Kaeso did not look at the drunken man even once. He ignored the request and left him behind, getting outside through the open door. Although it was still dark, the coldness immediately put an end to Kaeso's somnolence. The snowflakes visible only in the streetlamps' light danced in it like moths. As soon as Kaeso found himself outside, he started putting an end to their joyful play. Touching his skin, they melted down into tiny water drops, reminding children's tears. Kaeso was not the only one making them cry despite the early hour. Walking on the sidewalk, Kaeso hardly noticed the silhouette coming from the opposite direction. They passed each other in one of the lamp lights. The stranger raised his head and looked at Kaeso. Like the drunk man before, he was also faceless.