The residents of the small town saw Alka return and greeted him warmly.
It seemed that in just a year, Alka had matured considerably.
The most significant change was that Alka, returning after a year away, no longer felt the need to pretend to be his old self.
Alka responded to each greeting and, after some small talk, made his way back to his old courtyard along the path.
He pushed open the courtyard's low wooden gate, which resembled a fence, and walked into the small house.
It still looked the same as before.
The inside was very clean, without the thick layer of dust usually found in places left uninhabited for a long time.
Aunt Marsi must have been here.
Since I'm here anyway, I should go see how her family is doing.
Otherwise, if Aunt Marsi finds out I returned without visiting her, she'll definitely give me an earful later.
He closed the door again and followed the path to Aunt Marsi's house, only to find the door tightly shut.
Looks like no one's home.
