Chapter 436: A familiar face (2)
"Let’s go find something to eat."
There were a few nearby restaurants Ghost pointed out.
I wasn’t really in the mood to eat, but I followed him anyway, hoping I could forget ..Even for a little while ..
About Danzo, and the endless flood of information I had been drowning in.
"The restaurants around here aren’t anything special, but they’ll fill you up."
Ghost said, and I replied carelessly,
"Anything will do."
In the poor streets of Belgrad,
There were plenty of street vendors and open food stalls scattered around.
I glanced at them all with a blank face.
Food hadn’t appealed to me in a long, long time.
So I decided to just pick one at random.
But as we walked a little further ..
I found myself stopping dead in my tracks as something caught my eye at the end of the street.
I rubbed my eyes quietly, trying to steady myself.
I was exhausted .. Maybe I was hallucinating.
But no... I wasn’t imagining things.
The scene was real.
Among the various food stalls,
There was one in particular with a decent crowd gathered around it, thick smoke rising from its tiny stand that still clung to its old traditions.
Serving a line of customers,
A fat old man rushed around, taking orders one after another, his thick beard and rough features exactly as I remembered them.
"What is it?"
Ghost stopped too when he noticed me frozen in place, but I couldn’t help but laugh quietly.
"So you’re still alive, you damned old man."
I said with a smile, making my way toward him.
"We’ve found what we were looking for, Ghost."
There was no way I could just pass him by after all this time.
Maybe he had escaped back then ..
But the world really was a small place.
"Fate brought me back to you once again, Shaheen."
And with that, I stepped into his new restaurant.
In that moment, without warning,
Everyone inside turned to stare at us as Shaheen dropped his iron ladle to the ground, freezing in place, shocked to see me walking in out of nowhere.
"You look like you’ve seen a ghost... Shaheen, it’s been a while."
I said simply, as the old man stared at me in disbelief, Rubbing his eyes repeatedly to make sure what he was seeing was real.
But he quickly started screaming when the leftover spicy food on his hands burned his eyes.
Letting out a muffled cry, his eyes now bright red from the heat, Shaheen spoke through the pain:
"Frey... ah, hello. I didn’t expect to see you..."
Flustered, the old man took a long moment to calm himself down.
"Go wash your face first, old man.
We’ll be waiting for you at one of your tables .. then we can talk."
I waved him off and took a seat at one of the wooden tables, Ghost beside me, silently observing everything.
Shaheen was still clearly shaken ..
you could see it in the frantic way he nodded before trying to pick up his fallen ladle...
Only to drop it again.
He really was hopeless.
But I couldn’t help feeling happy to see him alive and bustling, just like always.
...
...
...
It took Shaheen a full thirty minutes to gather his courage and finally sit down in front of us.
He was so late that I almost wanted to scold him for the terrible service.
But I didn’t ..
I remembered how places like this, back before my reincarnation, were just as slow.
In that way too, he hadn’t changed.
Even when he finally joined us,
silence filled the air,
the three of us just staring at one another.
Ghost sat between us, shifting his gaze back and forth ..
first to me, then to Shaheen.
Then back to me again, then Shaheen—
who was starting to sweat.
The silence dragged on until I stood up abruptly and slammed the table over him.
"What’s wrong with you, damned old man?! Are you my ex-girlfriend or what?! Say something, for god’s sake!"
Trying to crush him beneath the table,
Shaheen grabbed it firmly and shoved back at me.
"You filthy brat! Is that how you treat your elders?! I was actually embarrassed to face you, you know! I wanted to apologize and give you some free food, but now the only thing you’re getting is my hairy old ass!"
"Oh, so now you’re offering your ass to strangers, huh, filthy old man? No wonder you’ve got all these customers!"
"Your mouth’s gotten bigger, kid. Maybe I should cut it off for you."
We shouted at each other in front of all the customers, both of us wrestling with the table.
I could’ve easily overpowered him, but I deliberately used the same amount of strength as him, making our ridiculous struggle perfectly even.
And after a few more minutes of nonsense,
we finally set the table down again and sat back in our seats.
"Let’s do this properly, kid." He said with a serious face, and I nodded.
"Go on, then."
With a nod,
Shaheen began to apologize.
"I’m sorry, kid... for disappearing like that after our last conversation."
He bowed his head sincerely.
But I quickly lifted his head back up with aura control from afar.
"No need to apologize.
I see you’ve left the past behind.
There’s nothing to regret .. you’ve done what I couldn’t."
Shaheen had spent his whole life trapped in the temple, haunted by the ghost of his dead daughter, imprisoning himself within the walls of the past.
But he managed to break free from those chains.
And here he was now.
"Look at you .. your restaurant’s thriving, you’ve got dozens of customers... I’m glad life has been kind to you, old man."
I said with a smile, and Shaheen narrowed his eyes at me.
"That’s thanks to you, kid.
Your words that day gave me the push I needed.
Even so... I left without saying a word to you. I do feel a little guilty about that.
I hope you won’t hold it against me."
Shaheen spoke sincerely, regret lingering in his voice,
unable to speak the full truth.
But I already knew what he meant,
so I spared him the trouble of saying it aloud.
Without realizing it, Shaheen had treated me like a son.
Maybe back then,
he used me to fill the void his dead daughter left behind.
And that’s what built the bond between us.
But it was only a temporary escape from reality.
That’s why Shaheen left me behind when he decided to start over.
If I had stayed by his side, he might never have left the temple at all.
But I didn’t blame him for what he did.
It was a necessary step for him ...
And I respected his decision.
In the end, we understood each other.
And that was what mattered.
Shaheen nodded with a soft smile, regaining his usual composure.
"You look hungry. Should I bring you the usual?"
He asked with a grin, and I nodded.
"Yeah... the usual. For me and my friend here."
"Got it! Hahaha!"
Letting out his signature pirate-like laugh,
Shaheen marched back into the kitchen, brimming with energy.
Watching him from behind,
I couldn’t help but laugh quietly too.
I was truly happy to see him again.