They had to wait half an hour for the car in the airport parking lot, surrounded by palm trees. Elena was a bit disappointed about the delay, but since she had never seen a palm tree up close before, she took photos of them in the meantime. At least she’d have something to post on social media right away.

Elena had been scrolling through posts in various Facebook groups for days. The two-week trip to the Canary Islands had to be perfect. They weren’t about to spend a year’s worth of savings just to aimlessly lounge around—they could do that in the garden for free.

It had been more than ten years since Marisol left her homeland in search of a better life. The Canary Islands, with their eternal spring-like climate and abundance of tourists, seemed like a land of opportunity for the divorced mother of two.

Tina nervously eyed her phone as it rang for the second time. Her heart was pounding in her throat. She knew Eva was waiting outside the gate in her car, just like every Tuesday morning on her day off, after dropping her son off at preschool.

The foreign man nearly tripped on the slippery rubber. Losing his balance, he leaned against the stone wall and scraped his elbow. He winced. Only the woman who had lived there for a long time was sitting in front of the padel court, smoking a cigarette.

For his birthday party, Jenő invited only a few members of the faculty and his childhood friend. One of his colleagues mentioned she would bring her friend along if Jenő didn’t mind. The math teacher had set her sights on a girl for the long-single birthday boy.

Adél looked at the photo on her phone repeatedly, comparing it to the two walls beside the entrance. No matter how she counted, one wall had seven key boxes, and the other had six. But the picture showed only four.

"Mom! We're going to be late!"

The voices sounded distant, unreal. How could she be late for anything when she was swimming around a deserted island underwater, while her two sons played in the white sand with the gold they found on the abandoned pirate ship?

Ludmilla loved orange lipstick. She used to think it was ugly and old-ladyish. But ever since she turned sixty, it was the one she always reached for when she wanted to feel beautiful.

It was as if an ice pick had been driven into his skull when Emily laughed. Ted couldn’t stand her voice—that thin, squeaky sound. It drove him crazy.