The café was quite ordinary. A small but nicely furnished place, letting in plenty of light from the street. Some potted plants, bright colors, and neutral posters on the walls. The smell of freshly brewed coffee mingled with the aroma of pizza fresh out of the oven. A place to sit and enjoy. A few tables were occupied by guests. An elderly lady was trying to coax her granddaughter into eating another cookie under the disapproving gaze of her mother, who seemed to have resigned herself to the situation, calculating how many more sweets her child could safely consume. At another table, a young couple quietly argued over something, showing each other messages on their phones. At the next table, a man in a suit was desperately trying to wipe ketchup off his jacket lapel.

It definitely didn’t look like the meeting place of a secret group.

Nina smiled at the woman behind the counter, who nodded in acknowledgment.

“Most of the group is here already. I’ll bring your drinks shortly,” she said, gesturing behind her.

In the corner behind the bar, partially concealed, was a passageway to a separate room, hidden behind a thick, light-colored curtain. Nina headed directly for it, hearing Phillip following close behind, looking around curiously.

The room had only one window, which was covered. Artificial light illuminated a large square table and the couches around it, forming a private booth. Near the entrance was a coat rack overflowing with jackets, coats, and scarves.

As they entered, a few heads turned. A man sitting by the window kept his head bowed, lightly massaging his temples. Upon seeing Nina, he smiled warmly and carefully started to stand up.

“Nina!” several voices called out. Some glanced curiously at Phillip.

They began to stand and greet Nina, some shaking her hand, others embracing her. In total, there were three men in the room, including the one with the migraine, and the same number of women.

"I think we’ve got a new one," she heard someone whisper. The voice came from an older man, who simply raised a hand in greeting and decided to remain seated.

He directed his comment to the two people sitting next to him: a very young-looking teenage girl and a woman old enough to be her grandmother—a pretty accurate statement, as she was the girl's great-aunt.

The old man, more experienced member of the group, sensed the same thing Nina had on the train. The women, however, began peppering the elderly man with whispered questions.

"Good to see you," murmured a woman in her forties, hugging Nina. Her red hair was pinned back with a clip, and she was dressed in a floral blouse and a long green skirt. She was rather thin and tall. A string of beads around her neck completed the look, reminiscent of an artist torn away from painting or writing poetry. Which wasn’t far from the truth, as in each of her various lives, she pursued something creative.

"You too, Anna," Nina replied with a genuine smile. She liked Anna, who always exuded a calm and positive aura that Nina enjoyed soaking in.

Standing right behind Anna was her partner, Adam. He extended a hand to Nina with a smile. His mature, stern face was framed by dark stubble. With his short, military-style haircut, sharply defined jawline, deep-set eyes, and rigid posture, he might have seemed intimidating, but his voice was gentle. He draped an arm around Anna.

"Who’s that you’ve got there, Nina?" he asked, looking at Phillip.

"I’ll introduce him in a moment, be patient," she laughed and turned to the last person in the room.

The man who had been sitting by the window was now standing to the side, waiting patiently for everyone to finish greeting Nina. His expression remained slightly pained, and he was slightly hunched.

"Oh, Daniel, I see you’re not doing well," Nina said, concerned. She had seen him like this before, but he seemed much weaker and more uncertain now. She couldn’t make out his beautiful, light-blue eyes, which he squinted against the light from the single lamp lit in the room. His handsome face was marred by an expression of pain. He hadn’t shaved, as he usually did, and seemed to have skipped his last shower.

Even so, Nina let him hug her in a long embrace. She knew it gave him strength.

"Nina," he sighed quietly, burying his face in her hair.

The rest of the group resumed their seats, chatting and giving them space. Nina, however, felt Phillip shifting impatiently behind her, fidgeting from foot to foot.

"Daniel, I’ll sit next to you, and we’ll talk in a bit, okay?" she said gently, pulling away slightly.

The man immediately straightened up to give her space.

"Yes, sorry," he said, embarrassed, and slowly returned to his seat, pressing up against Adam and leaving the spot next to him open. He stared at the table in pain but then shifted his gaze to Phillip, and furrowed his brow in thought.

Nina tugged Phillip by the arm, encouraging him to stand beside her.

"Hello, everyone. We probably have a lot to discuss today," she said loudly. The murmurs of conversation quickly died down as all eyes focused on the man standing beside her.

"This is Phillip..." she began, then paused.

"What’s your last name?" she asked.

"King, Phillip King. Nice to meet you," he said, giving a shy nod.

"Phillip joined my train car today on the way here. It looks like he made his first return a few months ago. He died in an accident at the age of thirty but has returned at eighteen."

"Oh, poor thing, you haven’t lived much," commented the old man.

"So, is he taking Martha’s place?" asked the teenager. "And what’s going on with Daniel?"

"That’s something we need to clarify," Nina sighed. "Let’s sit down first."

She went to the spot Daniel had reserved for her. There wasn’t room for anyone else on that bench, so she pointed Phillip to the couch on the other side of the table. He looked slightly anxious about being separated from her but sat down.

"Hi, I’m Robert," said the man with long red hair as Phillip sat beside him. He extended a hand and gestured to the others nearby. "This kid here is Natalia, and the older lady over there is Lidia, her great-aunt."

"Hey!" both women said at once.

"But the kid’s older than her grandma. It’s a great story, I’ll tell you later," Robert continued, ignoring their grumbles. He pointed to the others seated farther down.

"Arthur, who works directly with Daniel," he indicated an older man first and then the one sitting beside Nina.

"And our lovebirds, Anna and Adam," he nodded toward the couple in the corner. They smiled and nodded at Phillip.

"We’ve got a few more members, but either they couldn’t or wouldn’t come," Robert shrugged. "Now, where’s that drink?" he asked, looking toward the curtain as if summoning the waitress with his gaze. "Wait, let me through; I’ll go myself so they don’t interrupt us later," he said, standing up and squeezing past Phillip and the table. It wasn’t easy for him, given his size. Everything about him was large: his face, his long hair that fell past his shoulders, mingling with his beard, and his massive hands, which he used to pat Phillip on the shoulder as an apology for pushing past.

"Sorry, man," he muttered after stepping on Phillip's foot.

Nina chuckled under her breath, seeing Phillip's uncertain expression as he tucked his feet under the couch. Robert was two meters tall and often acted as if he wasn’t entirely in control of his size.

"What are you drinking?" he asked Nina and Phillip.

Both asked for a coffee, and Robert disappeared behind the curtain, pulling a wallet from the leather jacket hanging on a rack as he went.

"Move closer to me, so that giant doesn’t trample you again when he comes back" the teenage girl, Natalia, suggested and patted the seat next to her." Where are you from?"

Phillip shifted toward her with relief and started to retell his story, as the group focused on him and listened. Nina didn't hear anything new, so she moved her attention towards Daniel.