I walked through the boys' room, and their silence was such that I thought I heard the sound of their eyes following me. I entered David's room without knocking and threw the envelope with the two-hundred-page book on his desk, but he was on a call and did not pay any attention. I went down to Haddock Lobo Avenue, it was drizzling, the street was deserted, the water murky and dark. I sought shelter at a coffee, and wondered if I would ever know how to live far from the city, or at least in a city that did not end up like this, in an accident, but dying on all sides. After a while, looking at the rain and the water line advancing on the sidewalk, I felt my body move forward slightly; it was as if instead of the water level rising, the street sank. I got into the neighbourhood, rushed into a pharmacy and greeted the clerk, but I left without knowing why I had come in. I ordered a draft beer at the corner bar, I saw a travel agency straight away, I dropped the draft, crossed the street and bought two tickets to Shanghai.
