I became bolder. I allowed myself more and more. I left my hiding place more often and for longer periods. At first, I carefully watched my escape route, but over time I forgot about it. I observed the people I encountered, listened to their voices. The best game became guessing what they would say or do next. I created mental catalogs of people and their behaviors; their colors. I can't say that I understood those behaviors or the variability of those colors any better. But I learned to predict them, and that made it all the more interesting. More and more often, I knew something was about to happen, without having any idea why. I watched this strange spectacle and felt at ease in the world.

Until one day, during one of my longer outings, I saw a figure unlike any I had seen before. Smaller. Less mobile. Simpler. The thought struck me that it was defenseless. I stopped near it for a longer time. I watched, at first from a distance, waiting for its movements. I completely forgot about caution; I stared and waited. I allowed myself more than ever before; I allowed myself to get closer, to look straight into its eyes. And then something happened, something I had feared and had tried so hard to avoid at all costs: the small, defenseless, more enigmatic than the others, noticed me.