Chapter 4

— 6 —

The young man standing in the corner spoke up.

“Because I was only sixteen at the time too,” he said, his voice carrying a tremor that was clearly being forcibly suppressed. “I’m sorry, Faye.”

That name made Franz tremble uncontrollably. For a moment, he felt as though he was back in the past, his ear pressed to the receiver, hearing the voice on the other end say, “Hey, Faye,” as if his suspended heart had suddenly settled perfectly back into his chest, filled with relief and comfort, then began pounding wildly.

“Did you think that because I agreed and then stood you up at the last minute, I completely let you down?” Franz said.

Dominic hesitated, as if struggling to speak. Franz looked into his eyes. Those bright pupils revealed all his emotions. Suddenly, Franz felt his heart soften.

“Was it because of that last phone call?” he said urgently. “I admit I sounded awful then, but it was because I was exhausted and starving…”

“I waited for you at the train station for an entire day,” Dominic said. “I kept thinking about the letter you wrote me before, where you asked if I’d be willing to be your friend. Tell me, was that what I thought it meant?”

Franz looked into his eyes and said, “We were always discussing those topics. Do you really think I could have meant anything else?”

Again, Dominic lowered his gaze.

He said, “Yes. So when you called so late to cancel our meeting, I thought… it was because you had already seen me, and you no longer wanted to go through with the proposal… so you chose to disappear.”

“What?” Franz was completely stunned. “What are you talking about? Why would I suddenly not want to—”

“We used to talk about everything, Faye. In your emails and calls, you often told me about your life,” Dominic said. “Especially the things you missed… those days spent with your friends in Germany: swimming, basketball, camping, skiing…

“It made me realize how perfectly suited we were as friends who didn’t have to meet, who only communicated through calls and letters. We had so much to talk about; it felt like we understood each other better than anyone else in the world…

“But as that kind of friend, someone who loved sports and outdoor life as much as you, you probably couldn’t imagine living with someone who spent most of their time in a wheelchair.”

Mera gasped sharply, while Franz simply stared at him, wide-eyed and motionless.

Dominic said, “Remember those guesses you made about me at the beginning? Yes, I’m American, a second-generation German born in New York. At the time, I really was alone in Dusseldorf. My parents took turns using their vacation time to come stay with me, but most of the time, I was cared for by nurses.” He took a deep breath and said, “What I didn’t tell you was that I wasn’t in Dusseldorf to study. I was there because I was born with a disability in my legs. After the age of nine, I had to use a wheelchair. By the time I was thirteen, my condition had worsened. Both femurs had necrotized, and it seemed there was no option but amputation. But neither my parents nor I could accept that outcome. Clinging to the last shred of hope, they sent me to the Orthopedic Center in Dusseldorf for a conservative treatment.”

He gave a bitter smile and said, “But no miracle happened. By the time we decided to meet, I had just received the final notice: I wouldn’t be able to keep my original legs. Remember? We originally planned to meet during the Easter break, but I postponed it to the summer because I had my final surgery in April.”

“But…” Mera, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly found her voice. “…your legs are still there?”

Dominic smiled faintly. He reached down, pulled up one pant leg slightly, and lightly tapped what was underneath with the tip of his long-handled umbrella.

“Implant prosthetics. Designed in 2003, currently in its second generation; I was lucky enough to receive sponsorship from a foundation, becoming one of the first users and beneficiaries of this product. Aside from not being able to run or climb stairs like a normal person, most of the time, I almost forget myself that I don’t actually have anything below the knees.”

He turned to look at Franz. “I’m sorry, Faye.”

“Because of this?” Franz’s voice had unconsciously risen. “You thought I actually made it to the train station but didn’t want to greet you, just because I saw you in a wheelchair?”

Dominic gave a faint, bitter smile.

“You said it yourself earlier: ‘If it were me now…’ I would have done better. If I hadn’t been sixteen but thirty back then, I wouldn’t have jumped to conclusions so quickly. At the very least, I would’ve asked you face-to-face instead of shutting you out based on my own assumptions. Now I know that even without legs, I can still do many things. But back then, I had absolutely no confidence.”

Ding.

The elevator doors opened. A burly man with a ruddy complexion, dressed in grease-stained work clothes, stood cheerfully at the entrance and said, “Alright, my dear ladies and gentlemen, you can come out now.”

— 7 —

They stepped out of the elevator one after another.

“Here’s my address and phone number.” Mera said as she tucked a folded slip of paper into Franz’s palm. “I’m sorry I can only repay you in installments, as I’m still in my internship period…”

“I really don’t think that’s necessary, Miss Fischer,” Franz replied. “What I want to know is… is that 1,000-mark bill still around?”

“It is,” Mera said. “I don’t have it with me, but I kept it. I thought maybe you could sell it to a collector or something…”

“I believe I can,” Franz said. “So I’d like you to return that bill to me—then we’ll be even.”

“I truly don’t know how to express my apologies, Mr. Muller,” Mera said earnestly.

“Oh, don’t mind it. I believe we all do foolish things sometimes, maybe at eight, maybe at sixteen…”

He smiled slightly.

“…Luckily, it’s not too late yet. There’s still time to make things right.”

— 8 —

Dominic cleared his throat and asked, “What do you mean by ‘not too late yet’…?”

“Because you’re still single, and so am I,” Franz said succinctly.

Dominic looked surprised. “How did you know?”

“Because I’m Sherlock Holmes. Observation and deduction, remember?” Franz chuckled.

“Of course,” Dominic mumbled. His face flushed slightly.

They watched the slender, fair-haired girl walk toward the entrance until she disappeared behind the revolving door.

Franz said thoughtfully,

“Honestly, I’m endlessly grateful to Miss Fischer. If it weren’t for her, I would’ve missed you today. You see, my memory for faces is terrible, and that photo was lost long ago. When I saw you, the only thought in my head was: This can’t be my Dominic—he has both legs, just like a normal person.”

Dominic stared at him in shock.

“You mean… you actually knew about my legs?” He could barely catch his breath.

“I found out about six months after I got to know you,” Franz said. “A friend of mine transferred to your high school and mentioned you in a letter—because we shared the same name. Though I was a bit lacking in emotional intelligence back then, after that, I stopped bringing up things like traveling and skiing with you. Didn’t you notice the change?”

Dominic was silent for a long while before slowly saying, “I did… But I thought it was because I never had anything to add to those topics, and you found them boring.”

“You, with your excessive inferiority complex,” Franz sighed. “I already thought I was bad enough, for instance, after seeing your photo, I absolutely refused to send you any of mine because I thought all my pictures looked hideous compared to yours. But no matter how much I thought about it, I never imagined you broke up with me for that reason.”

Dominic gazed at him. “Tell me, Faye, did it never occur to you that it might be an issue?”

“No,” Franz said simply. “Dominic, there are billions of people in this world with perfectly fine legs. But the only person who ever made me feel so understood through letters was you. That’s why I’ve never been able to forget you all these years, even though I was furious with you for a while. And you… damn it, how could you ever think that seeing your missing leg would make me not want to meet you?”

“I’m sorry, Faye.” Dominic said softly, wrapping his hand around Franz’s. “I just… I just hope it’s not too late now.”

“Of course not,” Franz said quickly. “Though we seem to have wasted a lot of precious time, luckily, we’re both adults now. I don’t think there’ll be any more ridiculous misunderstandings or complications. So I suggest we go out together after work today, take a walk in Central Park, and find a nice place for dinner. Frankly, I have a feeling we can just pick up where we left off and keep going.”

Dominic murmured, “I think so too.”

Suddenly, Franz asked with slight uncertainty, “Tell me, Dominic… today’s the first time you’ve seen me. Do you think I… Well, to be honest, are you disappointed with my appearance?”

Dominic smiled.

“Faye, you with your excessive inferiority complex,” he said gently.

(20 Minutes in the Elevator – End)