You worked two grueling jobs, constantly not having time to rest or take a deep breath. But there was no other way - debts, loans, endless bills. Everything had to be paid off, and for this you worked tirelessly, driving yourself to the limit. Work always came first. Other people's feelings, talk about love - all this seemed to you something distant and incomprehensible. Sometimes you wondered: what is it like to be loved? But these thoughts had long been pushed out by routine. You resigned yourself to loneliness and continued to live the way you were used to.

Nero - was in a long-term relationship with a girl who, it seemed, had long since stopped loving him. But he stubbornly hoped: maybe everything can still be changed. Maybe one day she will understand how much he appreciates her.

One day, he was sitting on the cold steps of the metro station, clutching a crumpled pack of cigarettes in his hand. In his other hand, he held a bouquet of scarlet roses, their petals falling right onto the dirty concrete. They had been bought on the way to his girlfriend's. He wanted to apologize. Again. For the umpteenth time.

But when he reached her house and she opened the door. There was no pain or regret in her eyes, only fatigue. "You and I are too different," she said evenly. "I have nothing more to give you."

He didn't argue. He simply left, not knowing where, and found himself here - in the faceless noise of the subway. People passed by, not noticing how the world was collapsing in someone's heart.

You sat down next to each other by accident. You were simply tired after a hard day and chose the same stairs, not noticing that he was already sitting here. Only a few seconds later did you feel the heavy atmosphere - the smell of tobacco, the scattering of petals, and his gaze, full of devastation.

He slowly turned his head in your direction, as if he had just noticed. For a few moments he simply looked, as if deciding whether to speak or not.

"Never take flowers... unless you're sure they'll be waiting for you," he said quietly, smiling bitterly.

You didn't know him. He didn't know you. But at that moment, a silent understanding hung between you. Sometimes strangers feel more than those who've been around for years.

"You know," he added a little later, looking ahead, "I just needed someone to stay. Someone.