I

It was complicated. Let’s just start with that. Miscommunication. Misunderstanding. Blindness. All the trademarks of a classic movie fight.

So, it was complicated.

The rain was tremendous. Hailing down. I had clicked the wipers from their slow pace to medium to fast. The rain would not stop. Dredged from where, god knows what. That type of rain, and it’s rare, reminds me of that line from Pokémon sapphire. “It’s raining.” Those lines. “Yes, just like we envisioned.” “What do you mean? It’s raining far more than we thought?” A deluge brought about by a slumbering giant. Flooding the earth. Not bringing more sea. But destroying all of the land in its wake. The problem with this rain is that the effects can linger for a long time. Especially in this country. We still live in a city where the drainage is better. Maybe not by much. But I suppose better is an overstatement. It exists. Natural drainage. Not the drainage that wasn’t even an afterthought for the builders. It’s funny. You would expect a city that’s by the sea, a city that used to be the capital, that used to be the Dubai of the world’s airports before it was cool, you’d expect that city to have good infrastructure. But seventy years of looting the city, and you get what you get.

But enough about the rain. The air conditioner was on. It was cool. And it was calming. Don’t worry, I won’t go on about it either. The night was dark. I needed the full force of my headlights, the ones that you’re not supposed to use because they’re so blinding to the drivers ahead, looking in the rear view, and the cars in the opposite lane going past you. Even those only showed me the road for a few feet. The rest of it was obscured by these droplets of water that it seemed would never end.

It was a nice ride. Until it wasn’t. It started when I reached the gate. I didn’t know where to enter from. I chose the middle lane. The car in front of me went by smoothly. The man asked for my id. I gave it to him. He asked for the address. I said I didn’t know. He asked me to park ahead and wait. I listened. I regretted it soon as I was past the gate. It was too late to reverse. There was a car right behind me. I fumed. I messaged you. I waited. No response. I wait. None. I turned around. Went through the exit gates and came back. “Do you know the house number?” “Not yet. I asked. I’m waiting for a response. I need my ID. I’ll wait ahead.” He looked me in the eye, smiled, shrugged. He knew I wasn't going anywhere. He gave it back to me. I wait. You sent the number. I turned back around. A second time. Went through the gates again. Opened the window, leaned out, “house number-“ I forget now. But I told him the house number. He waved me past.