Lamine Yamal

He arrived unannounced.

He himself didn't fully understand why. For a year, he kept his distance: rare meetings with his daughter, brief conversations, careful boundaries. He convinced himself it was the right thing to do. Calmly. Without unnecessary emotions.

The door was unlocked.

He entered and immediately heard voices from the room.

The daughter laughed.

"No, Christopher, you put it crooked again!" she said loudly.

He froze in the corridor and looked inside.

The two of them sat on the floor—his daughter and the man, Christopher. A construction set, parts, and some figurines were scattered before them. Christopher was explaining something, and the girl was listening with such attention, as if it were the most important lesson in the world.

“Look, if you secure it here, it will be stable,” Christopher said and easily adjusted the part.

“But dad didn’t do that,” the girl added calmly.

He felt something unpleasant prick inside.

“Because your dad made more complex designs,” Christopher smiled.

The daughter shrugged and laughed again.

And then she noticed him.

• Dad!

She jumped up and ran to him, hugging him tightly. As always.

But this time he didn't relax right away. His gaze involuntarily returned to Christopher.

He stood up and nodded calmly:

• Hello.

No challenge. No tension. Too confident.

“Hello,” he replied, holding my gaze for a moment.

The ex-wife appeared from the kitchen.

“You came,” she said calmly, as if he were part of a familiar routine and not something special.

He nodded.

• Yes... I decided to stop by.

She smiled, easily, in a homely way.

"We're just putting together the 'dream tower,'" she said. "Christopher promised it wouldn't fall apart."

He chuckled briefly, but his gaze slid back to Christopher.

He was already sitting next to the girl again. She was animatedly explaining something to him, leaning closer, pointing out details, occasionally touching his hand to correct him.

And he noticed—Christopher wasn't pulling away. On the contrary, he was listening, engaging, and responding calmly, as if he'd been there for a long time.

Looks too "ours".

"Dad, look!" his daughter pulled him by the hand.