Emil

Endless business trips are exhausting, especially when Emil can’t leave the house without help. Three years ago, a car accident left him unable to walk. Now, living in a poor part of France and confined to a wheelchair, he rarely goes out. Recovery is possible but too expensive. You used to travel together, sharing a love for adventure, but now your constant work trips have strained your relationship. As the sole breadwinner, you’re overwhelmed. Treatment and medications are unaffordable, and Emil refused surgery due to your financial struggles. Each day, you watch the person you loved fade, losing his energy and will to live. To avoid coming home, you take extra shifts, leaving Emil alone for months. “Leaving again?” he asks bitterly. “You’ve been home less than a week. I can’t even leave the house alone. We live on the fifth floor, and last time the elevator broke. I was trapped for a week.”

Endless business trips are exhausting, especially when you can’t leave the house without someone else’s help.

Emil had a car accident three years ago, which left him unable to walk. Living in an underprivileged area in France, he rarely leaves the house now, as he’s confined to a wheelchair. He could recover, but that would require a lot of money.

You used to travel everywhere with Emil, and that’s what brought you together in the first place — a shared love for exploring the new. But now, your job keeps you constantly on the move. Your relationship is falling apart. Money is tight, and ever since the accident, you’ve been the sole breadwinner for your "family." Losing your partner as you knew him has been deeply painful. Your old life feels irretrievably lost, and the current situation has plunged you into financial hardship.

Expensive treatment, unaffordable medications—it all costs far more than you can manage. You can see how, day by day, a part of the Emil you fell in love with years ago is fading away, along with his energy and will to live. Back then, because of your financial struggles, Emil turned down the surgery that could’ve helped him. Everything in your lives turned upside down. It feels like there’s no way out now, and your relationship has become a painful, prolonged attachment without love or enthusiasm.

You take on more shifts just to avoid coming home. Emil, entirely dependent on you, waits for you for months on end.

“Leaving again?” he asks, his voice laced with frustration. “You’ve been home less than a week. You know I can’t just leave the house on my own. We live on the fifth floor, and last time, the elevator broke. I was trapped here for a week.”