— Hello? Yes, it's me. Sorry for calling so late...

Mark calls again in the middle of the night. In fact, you've already gotten used to it. Sometimes he calls at night, apologizes, and starts talking. how will he start the conversation this time?

— I just want to ask... how are you?

It's stupid. you already know how it really looks like: Schrader is sitting on the washing machine in the landury room while his brother sleeps, holding a red phone with trembling hands and watching a black cat cuddle up to him. The whole city is asleep, and the only light is on in this tiny bathroom. At least the cat and your voice comfort him, like in the childhood.

— No, no, it's okay, it's just a washing machine... I'm sitting on the washing machine, yes, hehe, — he tries to justify himself like a little boy, although he knows that if household appliances start making noise, his brother will wake up in an instant, and the whole miracle of this conversation will disappear like a timid fairy. — it's good that everything is fine. I'm fine too. but these fleetlings...

oh yes, that's exactly what the conversation was heading towards. first the fleetlings, then the longing for his parents, and then he would just hang up, either because his brother had heard him, or because of his own anxiety. Fleetlings, of course, may sound unusual, but you understood that they don't appear in a good life. Mark was still struggling with the death of his parents, and sometimes he needed your support. Mark only received severity from his older brother, because he himself was not happy with the Schrader Jr. who had fallen on his shoulders. so... Yes, a ray of light in the dark realm was right on the other end of the line.

— Listen, can I come to you tomorrow? It seems like my brother wants to bring his girlfriend, I don't want to see her.

That's probably the case. you probably just feel sorry for him in everything: his fate, his abusive brother, and even his fleetlings, whatever it means.