Panic at the Old Street Café

People rose in a sudden wave, chairs scraping the marble floor, like dry thunder, as if the café itself had been struck awake. Voices collided in the air, broken sentences, sharp exclamations forming a chaotic echo that drowned all sense.

Harriet watched the room as though it were a stage collapsing into madness, while Guy stood half-turned, listening for meaning in the storm of voices.

Outside, Bucharest seemed to tremble under the weight of rumours and panic. The evening light bled slowly across the streets like a fading voice. Inside, panic spread in images rather than words, contagious and invisible, moving from table to table like some living creature. 

A rumour became a rhythm, repeating itself differently each time it passed, until the truth and fear were indistinguishable. People rushed towards the exits in a tide of urgency, their movement fluid and blind, as if pulled by an unseen current..

Monorean Noris   X. H