That Thursday, he told himself he was going to Alexandria for the fish market. He arrived at the designated tram stop at 4:10 PM, feeling like an idiot. A man sold roasted sweet potatoes from a cart. A woman argued on her phone. At 4:16, the tram hissed to a stop, and a young woman stepped off.

Omar laughed. It was absurd. He was a software engineer—he believed in algorithms, not mysticism. But something about the specificity nagged at him. Not “Alexandria.” Not “afternoon.” Tram stop 6. 4:17 PM.

She wasn’t glowing. She wasn’t accompanied by orchestral music. She was just... there. Carrying a leather satchel, squinting at her phone, and wearing one blue earring and one green one. She looked up, saw Omar standing frozen, and said: “You’re early.”

“What?” he said.

“The website,” she said. “It told me someone would be waiting. It said you’d look lost.”

Omar typed: “I’m tired of looking for her.”