He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it all back, shaking his head and leaving it messy.

His hand went to the edge of the sink, grabbing a comb and starting to fix strand by strand.

His movements slowed down until he finally stopped moving his fingers through his hair completely.

He let out a heavy sigh, placing both hands on the sink and staring at himself in the mirror.

“Are you a man?” Leon said to the mirror. “YOU ARE A MAN!” He slapped his own face. “YOU ARE A MAN, YOU IDIOT!” He slapped himself again, the comb falling onto the sink as his chest rose and fell rapidly.

His heartbeat got faster, his fingers trembled against the sink, his breathing turned heavy, and he stared into the sink drain for a few seconds.

He slowly lifted his head, looking at himself again.

“But what kind of man are you?” He stepped back slowly and leaned his back against the cold wall.

He put a hand on his chest, gripping it tightly, feeling everything inside beating faster. Then he left the room, turning off the light without even finishing his hair.

At a fountain, a young man with black hair stood still, just watching the water flow.

Time seemed to stop for him, the water looked slower, his mind felt like a rewound film.

“Leon Ríthe,” he murmured, stepping away from the fountain and continuing to walk. “He doesn’t look like a Ríthe… maybe in face, but not in… manner?” His steps stopped in front of a perfume shop, staring at an advertisement magazine. “I don’t remember seeing his face in those posters,” Liuk murmured again.

He started walking faster until he entered a night café.

Going to the counter, he placed his order and waited while sitting at a table, just looking at the ceiling and pushing his chair slightly back.

“Do you think she’ll be alright?” a female voice asked, and Liuk quickly turned his gaze toward her.

“The doctors think the surgery might work, it was a very bad accident,” the person beside her replied.

Liuk moved forward suddenly and the chair hit the floor, making a loud sound that caused a few people to look at him.

He leaned forward on the table, interlacing his fingers and resting them on the wood.

One of his feet started tapping up and down. He closed his eyes and began to breathe in and out slower and heavier, when someone joined him at the table.

“Hey, still here? How long are you planning to stay before heading home?” Taylor sat down, waiting for Liuk to look up.

“You’re still here?” Liuk smiled, pushing his chair back again.

“Looks like it, doesn’t it? I ended up having some fun in a few shops around here,” he lifted some shopping bags.

“Hm… I didn’t find anything that interested me, and I walked all over these parts. All I’ve got left now is to drink coffee and finish my notes,” he closed his eyes calmly, but opened them as Taylor continued.

“So tell me, why are you trying to become an Irish language teacher like you said in the group?” he crossed his arms.

“Do you think students would even be interested in learning Arabic?” Liuk asked, resting his elbow on the table.

“Dunno, maybe. There’s all kinds of people, I suppose. Not everyone wants to do square roots either,” Taylor shrugged.

“And I was one of them,” Liuk said as his coffee was brought to the table.

“I don’t even care, classes used to make me fall asleep,” Taylor yawned lightly, covering his mouth.

“I know, you used to nap in class and still kept doing it even after getting scolded by teachers,” Liuk chuckled softly while drinking his coffee.

“Those are things I’d rather not remember at all,” Taylor clicked his tongue.

“There are some things I’d rather forget too,” Liuk said in a deeper tone. “But that’s how memories work, isn’t it? You can end up remembering childhood embarrassments when you’re forty! I don’t think there’s anything wrong with revisiting school memories.” He relaxed again with a wide smile.

Taylor looked at Liuk with a more serious expression, but once Liuk finished his coffee, he simply stood up and threw the cup in the bin.

“Well… I’m off then. You should head off too! It’s late and your shift starts in the morning, right? By the way, do you still write letters?” Liuk waited for Taylor to stand.

“No. Don’t write them anymore,” Taylor got up, grabbing his shopping and walking alongside him.

“Pity… I was thinking of sending one to someone,” Liuk gave another small laugh, walking a bit faster than the other man, who watched him with a serious look.

A man left a letter early in the morning in Leon’s mailbox, and when Leon arrived at dawn still in his pyjamas, he opened one of them.

After seeing the usual stuff like bills, he found a different one.

Slowly opening it, he began reading:

“Hey there, Lele! How’s things going? It’s Gui here, remember me? Hahaha! How could you forget me, eh? Fancy having a chat? It’s been ages since I wanted to talk again! We can meet at this address.”

Leon calmly closed the letter, leaving it on the living room table and stretching.

“Tsk… sometimes a mosquito just keeps buzzing in other people’s ears,” Leon said, staring at the letter with his teeth slightly bared in a low growl.