John woke up and moved the girl aside to take a deeper breath. This one was really clingy and she spent with him the last few days. He was a different man. He would waste hours observing people and trying to get to know as much as possible about their lives. He forgot N. Life there was fake and pretentious. Here he could finally feel at home, among these people, among these ugly, dilapidated buildings. He scarred his body and took part in the fights so common among local men. He had bruises all over his face and lost one tooth. But afterward, more women approached him, as the longer he stayed in K., the more he was treated as one of them. They forgot that he was from somewhere else. They trusted him enough to allow him nights in their rooms, to give him food and to tell him stories about their lives.
They were only afraid of N. Death was not something fearful. They lived with the bodies of their friends for years, stored them in empty rooms, or threw in pits. They were cheerful when someone died and no one cried, as there was no reason for crying. They were poor as he had never been in his life, they owned just one set of clothes throughout their lives, although they didn't pay attention to all those silly items but they appreciated a human wearing them. They had mates, colleagues, and acquaintances in a number of hundreds. They knew each other and remembered about little details from each and everybody's lives. They hugged and caressed each other, gave kisses on no particular occasion and they were close. They didn't mind sleeping with so many people in one room. One could easily forget the smell of sweat, but one could with difficulty forget hours of laughter and the atmosphere that these nights created. They were so welcoming and accepting that they didn't mind couples making love in their company, old men snoring, women farting and children playing around. John was looking at all of this with fascination and desire. Then he took their customs as his own and started to behave the way they did. He didn't come back to Melquiades. He took only his notebook and what he was wearing at that time. The old man got his pass and he didn't look for him at all.
John chose his constant lodgings and spent there every night. He woke up with the rising sun and went out with people to eat and prepare food. He laughed, talked and lied for hours under the shade of trees. He felt free and stopped answering his mother's letters. There was no home for him in N. He found another home, waiting for him for so long in K.
