He looked around The Grind. The man in the corner with the sleek over-ear headphones—were his eyes too fixed? The woman at the next table, scrolling through photos—was she scrolling, or scanning ? The baby had stopped gurgling. It was staring at Leo with a stillness that felt ancient.
“Cheap phone,” he muttered, and rebooted it.
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
Not music. Not a voice.
Just a handshake. Slow. Patient. Waiting for an answer.