As soon as Amie left the café behind, a cool breeze brushed against his face. The sun still gleamed on the road, but this alley rarely got too busy. There was a peculiar silence here—one that offered neither comfort nor relief from restlessness.
Stepping onto the street, he pulled out a packet of cigarettes from his pocket. In the soft chill of the air, his hands felt slightly dry. He flicked the flint on his lighter; a small flame sparked to life, and in an instant, the cigarette was lit.
In that first drag, the smoke felt like a homesick ache—restless, like something left behind. That kind of restlessness which you neither understand nor can talk about.
He began walking with long, measured steps, as though he was moving forward without a destination. The quiet tapping of his shoes echoed on the empty street, becoming even more noticeable in the silence.
His face didn't show that he was present here. While he had been working, his mind had been occupied—unable to wander—but now, once again, it was sinking deep into thought. That faint glimmer in his expression from meeting new people had already begun to fade. He was slipping once more into the weight of his past.
By now, he'd walked far enough to be just outside the colony.
From the opposite direction, Kiara and Naaz were also approaching. Their hospital shift typically ended around the same time.
Kiara nudged Naaz gently with her elbow and gave a small smile. Then, tilting her head slightly toward the street ahead, she said softly,
"That's Amie!"
"I should talk to him," she added quickly.
And before Naaz could say anything, Kiara had already quickened her pace. Naaz paused for a moment, then followed behind her.
"Hey!" Kiara called out, her voice slightly raised, but it seemed Amie didn't hear her.
She tried again, louder this time—"Hello, Amie!"
Amie came to a sudden halt. Smoke curled from his lips and drifted into the wind.
He slowly turned his head to look at Kiara. Then, wordlessly, he flicked the cigarette to the ground and crushed it under his shoe.
Kiara stopped just a few feet away from him, while Naaz continued walking up behind her.
"How are you, Amie?" Kiara asked, her gaze meeting his directly.
For a moment, Amie paused, then gave a slight nod and said,
"Hi..."
He was about to say her name, but perhaps he didn't remember it. Or maybe, he had never even asked.
"I'm fine. How are you?" he added.
Kiara responded with a light-hearted laugh,
"Me? Oh, I'm always fine!"
Then, in a sudden burst of excitement, she asked,
"How was your first day in the new house?"
Amie offered a faint smile.
"It was good." Then, rolling his eyes slightly as if searching for the memory in the sky, he looked up, thought for a moment, and then nodded toward Kiara,
"It was great."
Kiara raised her eyebrows, as if she couldn't quite believe it.
"Really?"
Then, with a teasing glint in her expression, she added,
"I saw you sleeping on the chair last night. It must have been so uncomfortable, right?"
Amie looked at her, surprised.
"You were watching me?"
She hesitated, a little flustered, and said,
"Uhmm... yeah. I had gotten up to drink some water, and I just happened to see you."
Cutting in before she could say more, Amie replied,
"Yeah, I was tired. I must've dozed off while sitting there."
Kiara nodded slowly, as if genuinely trying to understand.
"Oh, I see..."
Her voice accepted it, like she believed that yes, sleep can take over in moments of deep exhaustion.
Then suddenly, switching the topic with a playful tone, she asked,
"So, where are you coming from now? Were you out exploring somewhere?"
There was a sparkle of curiosity in her eyes, paired with a teasing smile that softened her words.
Amie glanced at her once, then responded in his usual calm, unhurried way,
"Yeah, I went out to look for some work."
Kiara's eyes lit up instantly.
"Really? What kind of work?"
Amie thought for a moment, then replied without offering any extra detail,
"Whatever I can get."
Kiara narrowed her eyes slightly.
"So, did you find something?"
Amie answered directly—
"Yes, I did."
Kiara was taken aback for a second.
"Really? That quick? Where?"
"Here... a little ahead, there's a café," he said.
"Oh? What kind of work is it?"
Amie looked at Kiara—she kept throwing questions, one after the other. Finally, a bit tired, he replied,
"I don't really know what to call the job role exactly... but I guess... café attendant, or server... or maybe waiter."
There was a clear confusion in his voice as he said it.
Kiara was shocked—
"Helper??" she exclaimed, and quickly followed it with another question—
"Okay tell me, what exactly do you have to do there? Serve orders? Help in the kitchen? Attend to guests?"
Now her eyes were locked, waiting eagerly for his answer.
Amie responded with calm simplicity,
"All of that," he said, still looking directly at her.
Amie's eyes met Kiara's—his gaze sinking deep into the dark pupils of her eyes. And hers into his, diving just as deep. That moment held something unspoken, as if a thousand conversations and stories were being exchanged, without a single word. Nothing made logical sense, but everything could be felt.
Then suddenly, Amie broke eye contact and began to walk forward.
Kiara, confused by the abrupt disconnection from the world of his eyes, found herself lost in her own words. She stumbled slightly over them, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
"Oh! I see! That's... that's good. That's really good!" she managed to say.
But inside her, there was a strange restlessness. That moment—just seconds ago—was it real? Or merely a fleeting emotion?
"Oh yes, right! What was I saying... Why are you here?" she asked, almost trying to regain control of the conversation.
"What do you mean, why am I here?" Amie replied, puzzled.
"I-I mean," she stammered, "I mean where are you from?"
"I was dropped off here by an alien spaceship, and now I'm wandering around," he said, answering her absurd question in an equally absurd manner—his tone dry, his face unreadable.
Kiara did a dramatic eye-roll.
"Ughhh! I mean, where did you live before? You're new in this city, right?"
"Oh, that's what you meant," Amie said with a small chuckle. "For a moment, I thought you believed I was from some other planet. The way you were speaking... it really felt that way."
Kiara laughed at her own words in a playful way.
"Oh come on! I just get a little confused sometimes. I blurt out whatever comes to my mouth—I don't even realize it!"
"I can tell," Amie replied with a faint smile.
"Yes, so where was I? Right, where are you from?"
"Dulban," he said simply.
"Oh! That's quite far from here, isn't it?"
"Hmm! It is far," Amie nodded.
"Okay... and how did you—I mean, why are you here?" she asked, stumbling over her words again. Frustrated with herself, she stomped her foot lightly on the ground.
"Well... actually, I'm a thief."
Kiara's face froze.
"What?!" You are kidding Right?" Than she chuckled
"No, I am serious. I committed a major theft. Got caught. My family found out. They said they couldn't keep a thief in the house. So they kicked me out. And... now, I'm here."
The way he said it—so calm, so matter-of-fact—Kiara, for a moment, actually believed him.
"Wait, wait, wait..." she let out an awkward laugh. "You make jokes with such a serious face, it's dangerous."
"I'm serious," Amie said, narrowing his eyes slightly, raising one eyebrow and tilting his head as if confirming that what he said was, in fact, the truth.
Kiara looked at him with a doubtful expression.
"Seriously??"
Just then, Naaz grabbed Kiara's hand and pulled her back.
"Enough now. We've reached home. Where exactly are you planning to go?"
Kiara looked around her, only then realizing that she was standing right outside Amie's new home. Naaz tightened her grip a little and gently led her toward their flat. Kiara, for a brief second, turned around to look back.
Amie was still standing there, watching her... with just a faint smirk on his face.
Amie unlocked the door and stepped inside—a faint, musty scent lingered in the air—lifeless walls. Dust settled thick across the floor. He glanced around—everything was just the same as it had been yesterday. Peeling paint clung weakly to the walls, cobwebs clung to corners, and a quiet sense of abandonment lingered in the air. There was nothing here that made it feel like a place to live.
He shut the door behind him and stood in silence at the center of the old room.
He took a deep breath—one filled with dust and exhaustion. Removing his jacket, he tossed it aside, rolled up his sleeves, and without a single complaint, got to work.
Sometimes sweeping, sometimes wiping surfaces—he examined every corner, as if trying to find his own space within it all. Every time he picked up something old, a faint memory stirred from the back of his mind... but he never let himself linger. He removed the old bedsheet, spread a new one, placed the pillow carefully, and for a moment, simply stood still—absorbing it all. Wherever it was needed, he fixed what had to be fixed.
After a while, the entire house had started to shine. The air now carried a subtle sense of newness. Amie looked around once more—this space, which had felt like just a room before, now truly looked like a home.
After setting everything right, he drew in a deep breath. Everything now felt... normal. Fatigue had already started settling into his body, and without a second thought, he lay down.
The moment he hit the bed, his eyes began to close slowly.
And within moments—he was asleep.