There was a river, and there was a bench on the shore. A suitcase was left on that bench, a reminder of how two people met last time.

Earlier that day, she stood on a rail platform, seeing her husband off to work. The train was about to take off when she saw a glimpse of a face that'd been haunting her for years. Her brother's traits.

She gasped, but pulled herself together in an instant. She began to stare at the scene unfolding near the adjacent car's entrance. A young male in worn clothes and one sneaker was hissing at the conductor like a stray cat. Sometimes she could distinguish separate words in that hissing until she figured all those sounds were supposed to be words. "He might not have many teeth left," she thought. "He looks deranged."

The more she examined the Deranged, the more she realized it was her brother in the flesh. Galena's mouth twitched — tiny movements no one saw but annoyingly perceptible to herself.

She made a humble step towards the two. The conductor was about to lose his temper; a bulky, tall male grew more ominous by the second, while the Deranged went on with his swearing. At some point, he pulled out a piece of crumpled paper just to shake it in the conductor's face. The latter added steel to his voice, barking, "Sir! You must leave the premises right now!" The change in tone indicated that there was no turning back. Galena shook and looked away as panic welled inside her.

The Deranged seemed to notice her, but her face looked away, so he didn't recognize his sister. He spat on the floor between his teeth, glaring fiercely at her. "Whatefer", mumbled he, moving the gaze towards the conductor. "Thish thicket ish valid, I told ya!" but this time in a calmer manner. No reaction followed. The brother stopped grinning, a sudden sadness darkened his face. Eyes became slightly moist. He repeated his last phrase, barely articulate, so it sounded like a sad wind stirring deep in the woods.

Galena was shaking with most of her body. She felt she ought to help her brother, but something stopped her. A long-distance memory of his last visit, what words were said, how awfully she was in need. Scorn and pity clouded her mind, obscuring the world and making her eyes wet with tears. If only she could see that the Deranged had now been examining her, watching her let go of the suitcase so that she could cover her face with her hands.

Once she did that, her brother jumped towards the case like a feral cat. One jump devoured the distance between them, letting his right hand grasp the suitcase's handle. The next second, another leap was made, after which the Deranged started to run, clutching the suitcase to his right side. Galena barely moved. She just stared after him, running again with no clear purpose, just for the sake of running. The eyebrows met over the bridge of her nose, and the lips finally tightened. She was breathing heavily through her nose, trying not to give in to anger. It was always the same story with him.