Meeting you yesterday
In the bazaar close to the school
where we used to play

You smoked
I smiled through the dust
Trying to ignore the differences

I knew it'd been hard for you
I really tried

The wind was degrading everything
The magnificence of the otherwise hot summer day
The braying of the donkeys at work
The shouting
and all the marble tiles lining the sidewalks
giving home its colour

and in my heightened sensations there was a whisper

"I'll be home for the end," you said

I nodded as always
gripping the hunger in my stomach so tightly
it always bothered me when the months came

"Maybe we can meet up then,"

"Sure."

That was all we ever said
and all I ever needed.