Maja worked in another city and was looking for a flat through a friend. Nermin sent photographs of a bright room, a small balcony and a row of trees below the window. He said the owner was in a hurry and she should decide before the weekend. Maja asked whether he had personally inspected the flat. He replied that he knew the building like the back of his hand. It was not an answer, but in her rush she heard what she needed: someone reliable had already checked everything.
She paid a deposit after a video call in which Nermin showed her the room and kitchen. The connection dropped before they reached the balcony. When she arrived with two suitcases, the view ended at the neighbouring building's wall. There was no balcony. The room had the same table and curtains as the photographs, but far less light. Nermin stood at the door explaining that the pictures might have been taken from another angle.
The landlady said she had never sent photographs of the trees for this flat. She had given them to Nermin for another flat in the building, one already rented. Maja asked why she had seen sunlight on the floor during the video call. Nermin admitted he had made the call from that other flat because this one was occupied. He considered the difference small. The balcony had been Maja's reason for accepting a higher rent, and he knew it.
Only afterwards did she learn he had received a fee for finding a tenant. He had not mentioned it because he wanted the help to seem friendly. The landlady claimed she did not know what he had promised. Maja could no longer decide how much to trust either of them. She photographed the actual conditions, saved their messages and found temporary accommodation. Her first night in the new city was spent unpacking only her pyjamas, exhausted by decisions she should have made earlier.
Nermin wrote that she was behaving as though they were strangers. He said he had wasted time trying to help. Maja asked whether he would recommend the same room to his sister at the same price. He did not answer. Instead he sent more listings, as though the problem were a lack of options. She did not open them. A friendship cannot become reliable simply because someone quickly finds the next offer.
Part of her deposit was returned after lengthy correspondence. She accepted the remainder as a loss that staying in the wrong flat would not reduce. She inspected her next room herself, in the morning and early evening. It had no balcony, but she knew that before deciding. Through the open window she saw an ordinary car park and a crooked tree. The view was not particularly beautiful. It was exactly the one she had chosen.