Emina recognized Luka by the way he said he needed a moment. In their small board-game group, that meant he was thinking or had burned his toast. They played online once a week, mostly adults scattered across different cities. Emina worked in an archive; Luka repaired household appliances. Their usernames sounded far more adventurous than the ordinary days they lived.
When other members began missing sessions, the two continued playing alone. Conversations lasted longer than the games. Emina described a colleague who marked every folder in a different color; he described customers claiming a device hadn't fallen although sand spilled from it. After several months, they switched on cameras. Luka's hair was much shorter than she imagined, and she wore glasses she hadn't mentioned because she didn't think every part of a face needed describing.
They arranged their first meeting at a gaming fair in a city both could reach by bus. Emina arrived early, wanting a few quiet minutes. Luka had arrived even earlier and was nervously arranging leaflets on a table that wasn't his. In person, he spoke faster. She spoke more slowly. For the first half-hour, each tried sounding like the familiar version from their headphones, making the conversation oddly tiring.
Eventually, Emina said she missed the button that let her mute the microphone and eat a biscuit. Luka laughed so sincerely that he stopped arranging leaflets. They bought coffee and sat outside the noisy hall. He admitted fearing he wouldn't be interesting enough without a game to fill the gaps. She said those gaps were precisely why she had traveled, to see what an ordinary hour together looked like.
The hour was pleasant but imperfect. Luka interrupted when excited; Emina withdrew when unsure of an answer. They told each other without presenting lists of demands. They walked to the river, missed a workshop, and ate lunch too late. At the bus station, Luka asked whether he could kiss her. She said yes, then made him laugh by adding that he needed no extra time for that move.
They continued playing but planned meetings too. Sometimes travel was tiring and weekends too short. Emina didn't turn disappointment into evidence that everything had been a delusion. Luka learned to call even without an interesting story. One evening, an unfinished game remained on the screen while they discussed buying tickets. For the first time, neither minded that nobody was approaching victory. They had something else both wanted to complete.