I already ate.

It was autumn, 1997

The city smelled like old rain and optimism. A time before everyone was online, when you had to get up and go out to be seen. When secrets stayed buried in basement apartments and whispers carried more weight than camera flashes.

There were payphones on corners, cigarettes in cafes, and the hum of something nameless just beneath the ordinary. Cellphones weren't everywhere, yesterday's mistakes were more easily forgotten. Ignorance was bliss.