— "What do you mean we're stuck?!" exclaimed Élisa.
Nasser, in a calm tone, said, "Well, I don't really know how."
Élisa, completely panicked, shouted:
— "What do you mean 'how'? That's not an answer! I can't stand being trapped!"
Nasser looked at her and said:
— "Wow, if you're already scared now, good luck for what's coming next!"
Élisa stood up, her voice filled with concern:
— "What do you mean, 'good luck for what's coming next'?"
Nasser placed his hands on his hips as if he were thinking, then said:
— "Well, it's not my first time being stuck here. This is the 18th time, and I know exactly what happens. And trust me, it's not pretty!"
Élisa, now utterly terrified, said:
— "What? What do you mean, 'not pretty'? Explain yourself!"
Nasser gave a mischievous grin and said:
— "First, the light is going to go out—that's automatic. Then comes the heat, which is one of the things I've hated since birth. And finally... the rats."
Élisa, already scared at the thought of the lights going out, nearly fainted in terror when she heard about the rats. She stammered:
— "R-rats? A-are there rats here?"
— "Of course, for someone who's afraid of her own kind, Miss Mouse."
Élisa, now furious, snapped:
— "I am NOT a mouse!"
Just as she said that, the lightbulb flickered off. Nasser felt someone clutching his left arm. He quickly turned on his phone's flashlight—Élisa was holding onto him, trembling. She looked at him, blushed, then quickly let go. She rummaged through her bag, found her phone, and muttered:
— "S-sorry… I'm just a little scared of the dark, rats, and being locked up. Y-you get it, right?"
— "Yeah, but there's nothing to be afraid of," Nasser said with amusement before adding in a more serious tone:
— "Except for monsters, demons, witches, ghosts..."
Élisa cut him off, her voice trembling:
— "No, stop! You're making it worse! Please, just stop talking!"
Amused, Nasser laughed and said:
— "You're really pathetic, you know. Ghosts and demons don't exist!"
Taking Élisa's phone from her hands, he walked to the highest corner of the room and placed the first phone to light up the space. Then, he placed the second phone in another elevated spot.
The whole room was now illuminated.
He looked at Élisa and smirked:
— "Feeling better now, Miss Mouse?"
— "Yeah, yeah… this is fine..." she muttered.
But it only took a few seconds for the second problem to arise—the heat in the room became unbearable. What Élisa didn't know was that Nasser couldn't tolerate heat. If it got too hot, he would pass out.
Élisa, complaining to herself, sighed:
— "Ugh, it's so hot… And why did it have to be just the two of us stuck here? There were plenty of other people who could've been trapped, but no, it had to be him…"
She looked at Nasser as she spoke, noticing that he was sweating profusely and seemed to be suffering from it. Concerned, she asked:
— "Uh, Nasser, why are you sweating so much? Huh?"
Nasser, exhausted, replied:
— "You know, I can't handle the heat well."
As he spoke, he took off his jacket. Élisa, a bit flustered by the situation, blushed and stammered:
— "W-wait, what are you doing? Why are you taking off your clothes? Huh, why?"
Still exhausted, Nasser said:
— "I don't have a choice. If I stay here too long, I'll pass out. And if it lasts too long, it could be dangerous for me."
— "Then we have to grab our phones and call someone, or else you—"
Nasser cut her off:
— "Forget it. There's never any signal here."
He removed his shirt and remained shirtless, using it as a makeshift fan. Élisa, feeling embarrassed, covered her eyes with her hands and turned her face to the wall.
Nasser looked at her curiously and asked:
— "Why are you hiding?"
Élisa, extremely flustered, replied:
— "Uh… well, I'm not really used to situations like this, you know? So it's incredibly awkward for me, you see!"
Nasser sighed and said:
— "Ah, I get it. But I don't really have a choice if I want to stay conscious."
Élisa reassured him:
— "Don't worry, I'm not looking…"
As she turned to face the wall, she suddenly felt something crawl over her feet. She looked down to see what it was and spotted a large rat staring at her motionlessly.
She screamed and jumped toward Nasser's bag:
— "Oh my God, a rat!"
Nasser, already uncomfortable about being shirtless, was caught off guard when she clung to him.
— "Hey, whoa! What are you doing, Élisa?"
Élisa quickly pulled away, embarrassed:
— "Sorry! I'm so sorry…"
She hadn't even finished speaking when the rat charged toward her again, making her cling to Nasser once more.
— "Hey! Have you lost it? Let go of me!" Nasser protested.
— "No way! Forget politeness, I am NOT letting go!" Élisa shouted in terror.
As she held onto Nasser, she felt an unexpected sense of safety, as if nothing could happen to her. It was the same feeling she had when she hugged him before—or when she hugged her father. She instinctively tightened her grip.
Nasser, confused, asked:
— "Uh… why are you holding onto me like this?"
In a calm voice, Élisa replied:
— "I don't know… It just feels good."
— "And what happened to your shyness?"
Closing her eyes, she answered:
— "I don't know… I just feel comfortable where I am."
Nasser watched her for a moment before sighing. He then noticed his jacket lying on the floor and asked:
— "Uh, Élisa, just curious—why were you mad at me earlier?"
Still peaceful, Élisa answered:
— "I don't know… something about some stupid advice, I think. But I already forgot what it was about."
— "So, all that just to call me a little mouse?..."
— "Huh? Nasser? Nasser, hey!"
Nasser didn't respond.
She looked at him and quickly realized—he had passed out.