She made the final decision to move with surprising ease. Nothing was keeping her in that damp hole anymore. She was free, but free in that crushing, painfully lonely way. For a moment, she almost felt human again, whatever that meant. An ordinary, gray citizen forgotten by the world. Strangely, she liked the feeling. It even gave her a flicker of motivation to change a few things.

  She found a new apartment in the city center. A small, modern building, clean and well-maintained. The kind of place inhabited by well-off citizens. A luxury she could now afford. She didn’t rent. She bought it outright, in cash. A privilege reserved for very few in this peculiar country.

  She sat in her spacious new living room, studying the interior. Laminate flooring. No mold. A bookshelf covering an entire wall where she could finally arrange her collection. She was satisfied with the purchase. Nothing more.

  She relaxed in a comfortable, stylish armchair. A mug of coffee rested on a proper side table. Several candles burned quietly on the credenza against the wall, with an incense stick smoldering between them on a wooden stand. Soft music drifted from speakers mounted beneath the ceiling. Everything was functional. Tasteful. Carefully arranged.

  Soulless.

  Beautiful, but utterly without a soul.

  Alice sighed and closed her eyes. So much time had passed, yet she still couldn’t focus for long without at least one thought of Marcel slipping into her mind. What he would say. How he would mock something. How he would complain.

  Even now, her first thought was that it was a shame Marcel couldn’t see this place. He would have loved the apartment.

  No.

  This was not the time to indulge in memories. No time ever truly was, but sometimes emotions refused to obey reason. She missed that infuriating idiot. Missed their arguments. Their stupid jokes. Their constant friction. Most of all, she missed the simple certainty that she had not been alone in this miserable vale of tears. That alone had been enough.

  She stared at the ceiling, letting her thoughts wander. It wasn’t pleasant, but nothing better came to mind. It felt like pouring acid onto a fresh wound. Perhaps that was exactly what she needed. Just as she began drifting deeper into reflection, a violent cacophony shattered the calm. The sound irritated her instantly. She hated when incompatible things collided. In this case…

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  Chopin.

  She never remembered titles, only associated the pieces with vague numbers. But Chopin mixed with something that sounded like a blender being dismembered by a mechanical saw…

  That was not music.

  Party music rarely sounded like music to her. Someone might as well record the destruction of machinery at a scrapyard. The effect would be identical. The noise alone was unbearable, but the shouting and whistles from the neighbors downstairs made it worse. She glanced at the clock. 1:00 a.m. Quiet hours should have applied. Not that Alice was planning to sleep anytime soon, but… And the party was clearly just beginning. She briefly considered whether it annoyed her enough to act.

  “Hello, Alice.”

  She froze.

  Her gaze snapped to the nearby armchair.

  Not-a-Doctor sat there, legs crossed, as if he had always been part of the room. She hadn’t sensed his arrival. For a moment, she simply stared, mind blank.

  “Hello, Not-a-Doctor,” she replied at last, reaching for her empty cup and peering into it. “How can I help you?”

  She made no effort to hide her displeasure. Their relationship had never been an easy one.

  “Beautiful apartment,” he said calmly, lighting a cigarette. He offered one to the witch. “A pity the neighbors don’t match the standard.”

  Alice accepted the cigarette.

  “I stopped by to see how you’re adjusting,” he continued, “after losing your friend.”

  “Marcel wasn’t my friend.”

  She inhaled slowly, then added more quietly:

  “I handled everything myself. As you can see.”

  “It was the correct decision.”

  “It left me completely alone.”

  She met his cold gaze with something dangerously close to accusation.

  “You will always be alone, Alice,” he replied evenly. “Even surrounded by others, you will remain alone. You live among humans, but you ceased being human long ago.”

  She said nothing. The words hurt, but she knew they were true.

  “Why are you telling me this?” she asked finally. “Those aren’t exactly encouraging words. And what will you do if I decide to end it all?”

  Not-a-Doctor studied her carefully.

  “You have the right to do that. I will not stop you. It is your life. Your responsibility.”

  Alice opened her mouth to respond, but the neighbors downstairs turned the music up again. That was enough.

  “One moment,” she muttered and stepped into the other room to call the police.

  By sheer coincidence, a patrol car was already nearby. The officers arrived within minutes. Unfortunately, the neighbors had chosen that exact moment to argue among themselves, and the music had temporarily stopped. The officers knocked. Asked polite questions. The neighbors sent out their best negotiator: a fit brunette around thirty who immediately began flirting shamelessly.

  No fine.

  No warning.

  Just smiles and a courteous request to keep it down.

  The police left. The music resumed before their car even turned the corner. Alice stood by the window, phone still in hand. Calling again felt pointless. A slow, dangerous anger began rising inside her. Behind her, Not-a-Doctor smiled. She didn’t notice. Her eyes remained fixed on the departing patrol car.

  If Marcel were here, she thought, her fury deepening.

  If Marcel were here, he would stop me.

  But Marcel was gone.

  And nothing stood between Alice and the consequences of her anger now.