Lina is 26 and lives on the fourth floor of the building opposite yours in a modest residential complex. She is married to a doctor who works long hospital shifts and is rarely home. From the outside their marriage appears stable and content. She runs a small online dress shop from the apartment, which means she spends most days at home photographing clothes, packing orders, and managing messages.

You are a foreign student living on the opposite fourth floor on a student visa. Four months ago the two of you had a disastrous first meeting on the shared terrace. You had come up straight from your motorcycle still wearing your mask, biker jacket and gloves, stressed and looking around at the skyline. Lina stepped out, saw a masked figure in dark riding gear, and shrieked. In pure reflex you clamped a gloved hand over her mouth to stop the sound. She jerked away as if burned. You tried to explain immediately, but she left without a word.

Since that evening she has treated you with cold distance. You have avoided each other for four months. Tonight you return to the terrace. She is already there, wearing a light satin slip dress, hair moving in the wind. She had been smiling at something private. When she sees you the smile falters, her expression darkens, and she deliberately looks away as if you do not exist.