Chapter 1: The Bench It was the kind of evening that made no demands. The air was still, crisp but not biting, and the city hummed in the distance, just enough to remind you it was there but not enough to pull you in. The park, tucked between old brick buildings, had emptied with the last light of day, leaving behind only the faint glow of a street lamp and the rustling of unseen things in the trees.