It was 6 in the evening when it started to rain as I was coming back from the market. I hurried inside my house and went to my room. Just as I was closing my windows, I saw him walking down the narrow road towards nowhere. I had never seen Mikhail, despite living a few houses down him. His amble and the surrounding at the time might have been indicative of a depressed mind, but those who met him, albeit only two, disagree. They insist he is not depressed, but rather just someone who is sad at certain times. Nevertheless, I would like to believe he is.
Don't get me wrong; given our city, with its lack of morality and beauty, the monotonous buildings that blend in with the sky and the ground alike, and the increased influence of the underworld on the overworld, it should come as no surprise that one can be nothing but sad. Why am I living here then, you might be tempted to ask. Believe me, had I gotten the slightest chance to go far away from this city, the slightest hope of a place in even a marginally better world, I would have abandoned this pathetic, forlorn place. Many, like me, stay here because they have got no other choice left for them anymore. Some, who partook in the city's liberation from the neighbouring country, stay because of the sentiment this city holds for them. But people are beginning to believe the sentiment has started to fade away too.
Mikhail seemed to be the only one who made sense in this world. Someone who looked like they found their rightful place, and had blend in easily as well. Yet his two acquaintances were adamant he was not depressed, nor even sad. I didn't believe them, yet a part of me wanted their words to be true. I had been wanting to meet him for the longest time, for he had caught my curiosity ever since I heard about him. Yet I was able to do nothing at the moment looking at him, and I could only blame this rain for snatching away the opportunity away from me. I could see no other way, and I cooked the most delicious meal I had ever made, ate to my stomach's full and ate more, and went to sleep.