The next few days passed in a blur for Andro. Lily’s presence had planted a small seed of hope in his heart, but the harsh reality of the world around him soon overshadowed that brief respite. The fleeting moments of peace he found with her were rare, and soon, he was back to facing the overwhelming weight of his isolation.

  The world of 2017 continued to spin faster than he could follow. It was a place of constant noise and movement, where everyone seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere, to accomplish something, but none of them seemed to know exactly what they were rushing toward. The faceless crowds around him moved with robotic precision, their heads buried in their phones, disconnected from the very life they were living.

  Andro wandered the streets like a ghost, a relic of a time that no longer existed. The sounds of the past—the gentle hum of cassette players, the soft crackle of vinyl records—had been replaced by the mechanical buzz of modernity. Music now had no soul, only beats that were loud and fast, but devoid of meaning. His favorite old songs no longer carried the same depth of emotion. The warmth they once provided was gone, replaced by an empty hollow sound.

  He sat by the Nile one evening, watching the water reflect the glow of the city lights. The current moved steadily, never pausing, and yet, he felt trapped, stuck in a place that he didn’t belong. As he looked across the river, he wondered if he was a part of the flow or if he was simply a bystander, watching as life carried on without him.

  A sudden buzz from his pocket interrupted his thoughts. It was a text from Lily. She had messaged him, asking to meet up. The words on the screen felt like a lifeline in the sea of his confusion.

  "Where are you?" the message read. "Meet me at the café by the park."

  Without hesitation, Andro responded, agreeing to meet her. He had grown to look forward to their conversations, their shared moments of understanding. Even in this world of disconnection, Lily was the one person who made him feel seen.

  He arrived at the café a little earlier than agreed, his nerves frayed from the constant tension of trying to fit in. The café was a small, modern place, with sleek furniture and an atmosphere that felt more like a show than a real gathering space. People sat around, staring into their phones, some laughing, others distracted, but it all felt empty to Andro.

  As he sat at a corner table, waiting for Lily, he couldn’t help but think about the conversations he had heard lately. People seemed to value being emotionally unavailable, as if it was a badge of honor. Relationships were now built on superficial connections, with an underlying belief that vulnerability was weakness. Andro couldn’t understand how something so essential to human connection could be so easily discarded.

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  “Emotions are overrated,” one young man had told his friends just days before, as they laughed over coffee. “You can’t let people know too much about you. You have to keep them guessing. That’s how you win.”

  Andro’s heart had broken at those words. Is this what the world has become?

  He was shaken from his thoughts when Lily arrived, her presence like a quiet breath of fresh air in the suffocating atmosphere of the café. She greeted him with a warm smile and sat down across from him.

  “I was starting to think you’d changed your mind,” she said, her tone light, but there was an edge of concern in her eyes.

  “No,” Andro replied with a small smile. “Just... thinking, I guess.”

  Lily raised an eyebrow. “About what?”

  Andro hesitated, unsure of how to explain the whirlwind of thoughts that had been clouding his mind. “About everything. How things have changed. How... I feel like I don’t fit here. I don’t understand how people live their lives now. Everyone’s so distant.”

  Lily nodded, her expression softening. “I get it. It’s hard to keep up with everything, especially when the world is changing so fast. But it’s not just you. I think a lot of people feel like they’re losing touch with what really matters.”

  “I used to believe that kindness was enough,” Andro said, his voice quiet but resolute. “That if you stayed true to who you were, the world would eventually see the value in it. But now... I’m not so sure. It feels like the world is telling me I’m wrong for being kind.”

  Lily leaned forward, her eyes steady and understanding. “It’s not that kindness is wrong. It’s just... not valued in the same way anymore. People are taught to protect themselves, to put up walls, to stay detached. They think that if they don’t care, they won’t get hurt.”

  Andro looked down at his hands, his fingers curling into fists. “I can’t do that. I can’t turn off the part of me that cares.”

  Lily reached across the table and placed a hand on his. “You don’t have to. But you have to learn how to protect your heart, too. You can’t let the world change you, but you also can’t let it break you.”

  Andro nodded slowly, the weight of her words settling deep in his chest. Protect my heart... He had never thought about it that way before. In his old world, kindness had always been a shield, a source of strength. But in this world, it felt like a weakness. He needed to find a way to stay true to himself without letting the world crush him under its expectations.

  “Thank you,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “I needed to hear that.”

  Lily smiled, her eyes soft. “Anytime.”

  They sat in comfortable silence, watching the people around them. The tension that had been building in Andro seemed to dissipate, just a little. For the first time in a long while, he felt like maybe—just maybe—there was still a place for him in this world.

  But the question remained: Could he find a way to navigate a world that seemed intent on changing him, without losing himself in the process?