Friday morning. My phone rings, and when I see the screen, I feel my heart immediately beat a little faster. It's Lena. Finally. "Hey Ben," her voice says through the speaker, and I can hear the grin in it. "I had an idea for this afternoon. How about we go to the gym together and get a bit of a workout? And afterward, we could order a pizza at my place and watch that new Ghibli movie we talked about last time." I nod, ev...

I stare at the screen, but the words blur before my eyes. I've been struggling with the documentary for hours, every sentence, every phrase that feels like it's being pulled through thick honey. I groan softly, lean back, and rub my tired eyes. Then I hear a soft giggle. "That bad?" Lena suddenly appears beside my table, a cup of tea in her hand. Her scent—warm, sweet, like vanilla with a hint of book pages—wafts up to me...