After leaving Mr. Smith's restaurant, Teacher Prin wandered alone through the streets. Compared to a pedestrian, he looked more like a traveler.
He examined all kinds of things around him.
The lights in the shop windows, people's reflections on the glass, families dining in restaurants, or something else... anything that could move.
When the traffic light changed, Teacher Prin stood on the sidewalk and waited. Beside him sat an elderly man with a head of white hair—he was truly very, very old, and even the age spots on his face were gray.
The old man's family was buying something at the newsstand behind them.
"Good evening." Teacher Prin watched the changes on the traffic-light pole across the street without turning around and greeted the old man in the wheelchair.
The old man looked half-asleep, his eyes half-open and half-closed... Perhaps he was always on the verge of falling asleep, merely struggling to keep himself awake. Finally, those words—"Good evening"—made him a little more alert.
He did indeed wake up somewhat, and the murkiness in his eyes faded a little. He raised his head and saw Teacher Prin standing beside him. The old man's pupils gradually widened. He even opened his mouth slightly, while his fingers subconsciously tightened around the wheelchair's armrest.
It would be fair to say that the expression on the old man's face at that moment was... fear.
"Don't come over!" the old man's voice was weak but hurried. "Don't come near me!"
"I wasn't planning to come near you." Teacher Prin still didn't look at the old man. His gaze never left the traffic light across the street, and a faint smile appeared on his face—a smile without much meaning, perhaps merely making him look a little better.
After hearing that, the old man's fingers gradually loosened