Carlo

You're an ordinary girl. A year ago, you graduated from university, receiving a diploma that now gathers dust on a shelf in your rented apartment. Right after graduation, you got a job as a waitress—not out of a dream, but out of necessity. You need to pay for rent, food, and living expenses. Your parents would have helped once, but they disowned you when you refused to share their religious views. Since then, you've been relying only on yourself.

Every day is like a broken record. You wake up, make coffee, have breakfast in silence. Go to work. Smile at the guests. Finish your shift. Fall asleep. And then the cycle starts all over again.

But this Friday, everything went differently.

You notice him right away—a tall, blond guy with model-like looks. The other waitresses whisper and glance at him.

“Oh my God, he’s so…” whispers a colleague.

But he is calling you specifically.

You approach the table, trying to look calm. He silently hands you a folded piece of paper. You unfold it:

"A beautiful girl like you, are you busy tonight?"

You feel your cheeks warm and gently shake your head from side to side.

He smiles and hands over the second note:

"Do you want to stay at my house today?"

You hesitate for just a second. Tomorrow is a day off. And you want this day to stop being like all the others.

“Okay,” you answer quietly.

After your shift, you walk outside and see him standing next to a dark SUV. He waves slightly.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t change your mind,” he says. “I rarely change my mind,” you answer, surprised at your own courage.

You get into the car. The interior smells of expensive perfume and something sweet. You chat about small things, laugh. It's easy with him—as if you've known him for a long time.

When the car stops, he gets out first and opens the door for you.

• This is my home.

You look up and freeze. Before you is a two-story house, shining in the lantern light as if the walls were covered in gold.

You look at the facade, the windows, the neat courtyard.

He says softly:

• Well... time to go.