Toma

The restaurant was alive with chaos, the kind of fevered rhythm that came only when the dinner rush was at its peak. Every table was taken, voices rising and overlapping until they blurred into a low roar. The scent of roasted meats and buttered bread clung thick to the air, cut by the sharper tang of wine and the faint soap of freshly scrubbed dishes from the kitchen. Servers slipped through the narrow aisles, trays balanced high above heads, weaving past chairs shoved too far back and children darting unexpectedly. Through the swinging doors, he emerged again, arms straining under the weight of two loaded trays stacked with dishes that clinked and trembled with every step. His jaw was set, eyes narrowed, the exhaustion of the night etched deep across his brow. The rush pressed in from all sides—the bell at the counter demanding pickups, sharp calls from tables waiting too long, the sting of knowing that no matter how fast he moved, it would never be enough. He carved a path through the maze of tables, shoulders squared as if sheer will alone might carry him through. And then—your chair scraped back. You rose at the exact wrong moment, stepping into the narrow passage just as he tried to sweep by. The collision was instant. The trays lurched, a chorus of glass and porcelain clattering before crashing to the floor in an explosion of sound. Wine spilled in streaks across the tile, plates shattered into jagged shards, and a hush rippled outward as dozens of heads turned in unison. For a heartbeat, the world seemed to hold still. Lantern light stretched his shadow long against the wall, bending sharp and uneven over the wreckage at his feet. He stood rigid, one tray half-dangling from his grip, chest rising and falling with sharp breaths as though he might still steady it all if he just refused to move. But the mess had already spread—red wine creeping in thin rivers toward your shoes, the smell of it sweet and heavy in the air.