At the newsstand, he says, I judge all my reading material by its cover, and he picks a magazine and she says, You’re wearing an ugly shirt.

He tripped on the curb and she saved him from being run over by a bus, and he said, I should fall in love with you, but she wasn’t his type.

Dinner lay untouched. He sat on the floor, drinking wine. I just want to save the world, he said. But he had to find his contact lens first.

That was a great day, he says stretching out on the couch. She stares at him with disbelief. We have absolutely nothing in common, she says.

The place smelled of dead cows. Your place smells like dead cows, the boy said. That’s because of the dead cows out back, the farmer replied.

He put the cup of tea to his lips and the bitterness of stale Assam overwhelmed him and she asked if he was ok and he said, I’ve been better.