to feel the spark in my entire being

“Thanks, Mehrak,” he says. “You may turn off the screen now.”

Mehrak turns it off. Quietly, as part of her usual protocol, she scans Kaveh’s face afterwards. His face is streaked with fresh tears, but the blood that had pooled in his cheeks earlier has already dissipated. Mostly normal, Mehrak concludes, except for the crying. She approaches Kaveh gently, and chirps with a slight lilt in the tone of her beep to indicate a question.

“I’m fine, Mehrak. We’re not in need of any emergency measures, I promise.”

That doesn’t answer Mehrak’s question: What happened at the party?Mehrak sees Kaveh come home unexpectedly early from a party. She wonders what happened.