If you want to be my girlfriend...

She looked down, her eyes fixed on something strange lying on the bench nearby. It was a mobile phone, the latest Siemens model, which she immediately recognized as a gift from Robert two months ago. He had never had a chance to use it, and it had remained in his coat pocket, and now it was here, next to her.

The phone was beautiful, with a shiny surface and a modern design. Its screen shimmered slightly, as if inviting her to take action. Without thinking, Delia Asia Vieira reached out and picked it up. Her gaze fell on the screen - everything was familiar and alien at the same time. She didn't know why exactly she needed this phone. Maybe it was a way to distract herself, to escape from all the thoughts that had been pouring on her lately.

She pressed the speed dial button, hoping that maybe she could find some comfort in that. But instead of the usual beeps, she heard a sound that was so strange that her heart skipped a beat. It was machine gun fire-sharp, loud, as if something was happening somewhere very far away, but at the same time merging with reality, right next to her.

Delia Asia Vieira shuddered and took her hand away from the phone, but suddenly everything went silent and silence enveloped her. It felt like the music she had just heard had disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. She looked around - nothing had changed. Everything in the park was the same: the same empty alleys, the same cold torches and darkness.

But then a new sound came - a familiar melody from a super-action movie, the song "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode. It seemed to be one of those songs that Robert loved so much. He often played it in his many recordings and picked the right mood for it. And now, when this music suddenly played on this phone, Delia Asia Vieira felt her thoughts sliding along the edge of reality, as if she herself was part of some movie.

She pressed the phone to her ear, but she couldn't hear the voice. Only the music, raspy, dull, and piercing. The cold wind from the lake blew into her face, as if to bring her back to reality, but Delia Asia Vieira couldn't shake the feeling that she was no longer just a person. In this world, in this park, she was an alien - as in her own story, which had suddenly taken an incredible turn.

She glanced at the phone screen again. No calls, just empty space and the same song. The melody seemed to be seeping through its speakers, like a forgotten part of some old life. Unable to bear it any longer, Delia Asia Vieira put the phone in her pocket and stood up from the bench. Somewhere in the distance, a wolfhound howled, its long, drawn-out howl echoing through the foggy park.

Delia Asia Vieira listened, trying to figure out if it was a wolf hiding in the bushes, or just an echo playing with her perception. A light cold wind ruffled the branches of the oak tree, and she peered into the space, when suddenly a sharp voice rang out:

"Hey! Do you have anything to eat?" someone shouted quite close. "Hello!!! Do you have anything?! Where have you all been?? I've been waiting for you at the park entrance for half an hour!"

Delia Asia Vieira shuddered and looked around. It was unexpected, and it took her a few seconds to realize that this was happening in reality and not in her head. She shook herself like a dog after rain and stood up. The feeling of anxiety in her chest was stronger than the desire to stay on the bench, under the oak tree.

She walked toward the voice. A young man appeared from behind the lilac bushes. He was wearing a tracksuit and sneakers, but no socks. He looked as if he had just noticed her, and now his face was spreading into a wide smile, full of mild surprise.

"Oops! What a meeting!" he exclaimed. "What brings you here?"

Delia Asia Vieira stopped a step away from him, looking at him with interest. It seemed she had stumbled into a meeting she hadn't planned on. This young man was clearly not from their firm, and she felt a tension inside. She had long ago learned to recognize people, but this guy seemed alien. Everything around him was alien.

"Well, there you go," thought Delia Asia Vieira with slight irritation. "Here we go again..."

She didn't know why she had approached him first, when she could have easily walked past him. Perhaps it was some kind of obsession, or simply a desire to distract herself from everything that was happening in her life. But now she felt how his smile and good-natured tone had become a part of her - a part of this strange, uncertain day.

"Hello," she said after a short pause, and then added, finally making up her mind: "I wasn't expecting you. Are you here alone?"

The boy looked at her with interest, his gaze was lively and alert, unlike most people she had met. This man was not part of her reality, and his mere presence seemed unexpected to her.

"Well, yeah, alone," he replied, shaking his head slightly. "Usually everyone hangs out here, but I'm always alone. How did you end up here?"

Delia Asia Vieira tilted her head slightly, trying to understand his intentions. Why was he here? Why in this place in the park? She felt his questions begin to penetrate her thoughts, disturbing her calm. Everything about this place was not what it should be.

"I'm... walking," she answered, thinking about her answer for a bit.

He laughed, as if he understood her predicament, but did not elaborate. Instead, he looked toward the park with a smile and said,

"You know, I think... Our park here is kind of empty. Not many people lately. It's probably because of this weird foggy weather."

Delia Asia Vieira felt like his words were probably supposed to be familiar to her, but they sounded foreign. Maybe she felt so disconnected from everything that this conversation had become superfluous, but she still continued to look at him, trying to understand why all this was happening.

"The fog is really strange," she said quietly, trying not to show that her thoughts were taking her somewhere.