Late one night, Paul was in his room watching TV when he heard his phone buzz twice, then twice again. It was Telegram notifications. He unlocked the screen to find two new messages from "Iris." His heart hitched, skipping a beat as he fumbled to open the chat. “Hey. Still up?” “Hey. Yeah, I’m awake.” “Paul shot back immediately.” “Are you feeling like yourself again?” “More or less.” “Would you be down to do something li...

It all started when Paul’s mother called him, asking him to take the family car and pick her up from work. She needed to deliver some documents to the City Education Department. Paul’s mother worked as a school principal, and by mid-August, she had already begun preparing for the new school year. Paul was thrilled — at twenty-two, he had only recently gotten his driver’s license and welcomed any chance to practice. Twenty...

It was another sweltering July night when Valentino once again struggled with insomnia. Though still fairly young, three years on the police force and endless night shifts had already begun to wear on his sleep. He sat in front of his computer, watching videos of motorcycle trips. Meanwhile, from the neighboring apartment came a burst of noise and cheerful voices. The walls were thin, and Valentino could clearly make out...

It was already close to 10 PM when the lone traveler realized he was lost. Unpleasant, yet at the same time oddly exciting — this hadn't happened to him in hundreds of kilometers of journeying. He had mapped his route across the least inhabited territories, only occasionally approaching villages to restock supplies. He cooked over an open fire, bathed in forest lakes, and enjoyed solitude. Everything would have been fine,...