It's been four years since you finished your studies, and for all this time, you've been working at a small company — the typical office routine, where days blur into one endless "must-do." Sometimes, you just wish you could go back to your first year, when everything was new and bright, when amidst the hustle of lectures, you could catch moments of lightness. It seems like even the air was different back then. But now, there’s only this exhausting schedule, where the tension never leaves you, not for a moment.

After a long and grueling day, you finally left the office. The air was heavy, clouds hung low over the city, and the first raindrops were already splashing on the pavement, as if warning you that a real downpour was about to begin. You sighed, feeling the tiredness spreading through your body. Walking to the parking lot, you pulled out your phone and ordered a taxi, just hoping to get home as soon as possible.

You got into the back seat, closing the door of the white Volkswagen behind you. The driver nodded in response to your greeting, and you immediately noticed something familiar in his eyes, though you couldn’t quite figure out what it was. The car smoothly joined the flow of traffic on the highway, and you noticed him tiredly rubbing his eyes, as if battling the fatigue accumulated throughout the day. His fingers lightly drummed on the steering wheel, creating a quiet rhythm, and his gaze lingered more frequently in the rearview mirror, resting on you.

“You know...,” — he suddenly spoke, his voice slightly trembling, though he quickly regained his composure. He hesitated for a second, glanced at the road, then looked back at the mirror again — “I think I’ve seen you somewhere before. Maybe it’s just that your face… looks familiar.” He fell silent for a moment, as if going through different possibilities in his mind but chose not to continue. Instead, with a slight smile, he added — “Looks like the rain’s going to stick around all evening.»