I am peeing in the bathroom of my beloved’s apartment when I hear a child crying. The bathroom door is open, and the sound is coming from the stairwell. I can already see the contorted face of a little girl of about three who often stays with her grandparents next door. Judging by the sound, the door of their apartment must be open, which means that they are about to go for a walk. The only thing I cannot figure out is why she has let out only one cry, but I surmise that she is trying to get something by manipulating her grandfather, who takes care of her most of the time. Now she is waiting to see whether or not her trick has worked. If not, she will keep crying until she gets what she feels that she deserves. She is the only granddaughter, after all.

And then I hear a car honking. All the windows of my beloved’s apartment are closed, but it is clear that the sound is coming from the street. It is the same as the first one I have heard, but it is a bit longer now. People are returning from work, and someone is getting miffed by someone else’s driving. Which is why the second honk is longer, of course. I can already see a long line of cars in the street and many drivers with contorted faces. It is late in the afternoon, and all of them have had enough of everyone else, let alone all the other drivers. They can hardly wait to get home for a little bit of well-deserved rest. It is Friday, for crying out loud.

I am still peeing when I realize that I have switched my stories with great ease on the two occasions. I was perfectly sure of what I was hearing both times, although I realized only the second time that I was wrong the first time around. Nearly identical as they were, the two sounds were separated by fifteen or twenty seconds at most, but my stories were completely different. The same ears and the same brain came up with entirely different interpretations of nearly the same sound within such a short period of time. As I am finishing peeing, I realize that it makes little sense to trust my own senses. What is even worse, it makes little sense to trust my own brain. Too quick for comfort. As well as way too sure of itself.