My new roommate and I were making a journey at night.
The city was a forest of lights.
In the streets, headlight reflections were gleaming on the surface of the asphalt.
Our attention was drawn to a flood of flashlights for a moment because of a sudden flurry of shattering in front of the Metropolitan Police Department.

We were heading to the flat where we were going to live.
As we viewed a canal which was running along an avenue in the center of the city, we were apparently nearby our apartment.
However, my roommate was trying to catch a taxi.
A taxi driver headed our way to pick us up, but a band of middle aged women suddenly appeared and cut in front of us.
The driver soon gave up on us and turned down another alley.
Suddenly an d quixotically, a woman from the group asked us to solve a riddle.
I gave it a shot to answer and made a lucky guess by chance.
The women got excited about it and got out of our way.

There was a gate shaped like a floodgate and we passed through it.
We dropped into a cozy restaurant with red decor and ordered something from the menu,
but they said “ We aren’t able to make that.”

At last we found our apartment with its characteristic spiral staircase.
When we were about to enter the room, however my roommate realized that she had forgotten the room key and left by herself.
As I was waiting for her by the door, a man stopped by.
For some reason, he had our room key and took the liberty to unlock the door.
Then he mentioned that he was actually our other roommate.
(4/11/01)