The day was over, and it was time for me to go home. But I didn't. I lingered in the city with my friends. There was a reason for this. I had this sense that Mel needed us now more than ever. And as though in a silent agreement, the four of us to our favorite spot by the bank. Subconsciously, the four of us were drawn to it like sunflowers looking for the sun to breathe.
I had separated from the group for a while, making my way to the rows and rows of stalls in the marketplace. Overhead, the stars were beginning to blink in and out of view in a broad expanse of cloudless darkness. The lamplights flickered on along the street sides, casting shafts of golden glows to passersby like me.
I stopped before a stall, a sole lantern hanging on its wooden post. Across me was the street food vendor.
"Hello," I said, "Can I have four chicken skewers, please?"
