Adam left the canteen.
Only John and Monica remained at the table.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
Monica looked at the food in front of her, but she was not really seeing it. Her mind kept returning to the question Adam had asked her.
Are you really from the same world as me?
That one line had entered her chest and stayed there.
Did Adam know?
Did he know what family she came from?
If he knew, how much did he know?
And if he told someone, what would happen to the life she had built here?
Monica liked this life.
That was what frightened her most.
She had not realized how much she liked it until Adam's question made her imagine losing it.
It was not perfect. It was not always comfortable. She had to hide things and watch her words. Even then, it felt more real than the life waiting for her at home.
Here, people spoke to her without bowing.
Here, teachers judged her answers, not her family name.
