Or I did. Emre wanted to shake hands. I first looked at his hand, then smiled and embraced him in a way he didn’t expect at all. The same way Ender apprehended me years ago, so I did Emre. This time around I wasn’t the one who had to worry about where to look during the embrace! Emre was the one trapped and bewildered between my clasped arms. I held that pose for as long as possible so he wouldn’t be able to tell that my intention was to touch the fabrics covering him rather than his hands.I even whispered in his ear, “Thanks for everything.” Then as abruptly as I’d embraced him, I withdrew.Slightly shaken by such a heartfelt farewell and at a loss for words, Emre took out of his pocket the piece of paper on which I’d drawn the labyrinth and showed it to me, saying, “See, I’ve been keeping this …” Then he added, “You’re a very smart guy, Gaza!”I remembered that from somewhere. Hadn’t the prosecutor said something of the like? He’d said “kid” instead, I think, but now I was grown up.
