Early on Saturday morning, Nina and Emmi met at Chatuchak, Bangkok's most prominent market. Most of the stalls were still closed, but they didn't mind as their first mission was to find coffee. The next mission, and the main reason for their visit to the market, was to buy a birthday gift for Chompoo. 

The sky was gray and threatening with rain, yet it didn't stop the life at the market, rather, the usual offerings were further enriched by women on bicycles selling rain ponchos.

They walked through a narrow aisle flanked by stalls on both sides. They passed by a few vendors, busying themselves with opening up and sweeping the street in front of their stores.

"After we find coffee, let's first visit the antiques section," Emmi suggested, showing Nina the map of the market on her smartphone. "I still haven't bought any souvenirs for my parents – maybe I can find something for them here."

"Alright, after that we can go see the art and paintings section, it's all the way at the other end of the market though," Nina said, sidestepping a puddle while lifting her long red skirt in a motion that revealed her brown sandals.

"Hey, are those new?" Emmi noticed. "That reminds me, they should also have great shoes here, that's stall number 21 to 24, near the antiques. By the way, do we even have any idea what to buy? You've gotten to know Chompoo much better than me." They turned a corner and arrived at the center of the market where food stalls were starting to open. The aroma of freshly fried dough wafted through the air, making Nina's mouth water. A pretty young woman was selling coffee to go, and Emmi silently gestured towards her cart. Nina nodded in agreement, and they lined up.

"I'm not sure, but I know they sell silk scarves here. It seems like a pretty safe choice. You can never have too many scarves, right? Other than that, I was hoping we might come across a good book in the antiquarian bookstore. Though I'm not sure how well we'll be able to choose a Thai title."

"So you really have no idea," Emmi said when it was their turn to order coffee. "Alright, if we don't find anything here maybe we can look online. How much time do we have?"

Nina paid for the drinks, an egg coffee for Emmi and a coconut espresso for herself, and they headed back toward the antiques section.

"The birthday is officially on Thursday, that's what, four days from now? But the party is on Saturday, which gives us seven days to find something. We can do it!" Nina laughed and gestured with a fisted hand, flexing her biceps.

They sat on a bench to drink their coffee and wait for the shops to open. Nina was pondering the invitation she had received from Chompoo the previous evening. The message announced a surprise at the event, and the location where the party would be happening was also a bit enigmatic. "In nature," with the exact location to be revealed the day before the event. Nina had already noticed Chompoo had a flair for drama and theater, while she herself preferred to be more prepared for what awaited her. Chompoo had asked her to pass the invitation to Emmi, since the girls had bonded at their frequent encounters at the Z café, but hadn't exchanged phone numbers.

"You seem uncharacteristically quiet," Emmi said, standing up to throw her coffee cup in the bin.

"I'm just thinking about what Chompoo might come up with for her party. You know she's a bit eccentric, I'm afraid she might give us all tattoos to forever remember her birthday."

"Do you think she would!? That would be totally cool!" Emmi's eyes sparkled. "I wouldn't say no to a free tattoo. Btw how's the business going? Now that the website for Bo is over, do you have any new customers?"

"I'm still looking. It'd be better if they were looking for me, though. Sometimes I feel like I totally missed the mark by moving. What am I even doing here?" Nina said, staring at the bottom of her plastic cup where only half-melted ice cubes remained.

"What do you mean? You love Bangkok. Don't get discouraged just because everything isn't going super smoothly right from the start. After all, you've just finished a great gig. Don't tell me you're thinking about going back to Croatia?" Emmi sat down next to her again, hugging her lightly by the shoulders.

"No, I don't want to go back. At least I don't think so. It feels like I'm finally breathing in some fresh air here, being far away from the vector of toxicity." They have been referring to Nina's mother and sister in this way ever since Emmi first came up with it months ago. "I can feel how good this move is for me." Nina perked up suddenly. "Can you imagine, the other day I refused a rotten mango that a woman at the market tried to push on me. I almost cried on my way home, not knowing whether it was from happiness that I finally managed to stand up for myself, or from worry about what the woman would think of me. But before, I would have just taken that rotten mango and it wouldn't have occurred to me to oppose her."

"There you go, bravo! Maybe you'll even manage to get your perfectionism under control a bit and where will be the end of you then?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid that's a battle that will require a visit to a professional," Nina chuckled. "What about you, have you decided what your next steps will be when your visa expires?"

"Now that you ask, yes I have. I think my time to go back home has finally arrived," she said in a flat tone, facing Nina with corners of her mouth turning slightly downwards.

"Really?" Nina's eyebrows shot up, but her shoulders drooped slightly. "When did you decide that? What about Tran?"

"Tran's great, but I realized I was using the relationship, or whatever it was, to delay making a decision about what to do with my life. It's time to go back home and get a job. I can't live off savings forever, and that wasn't ever the plan. I got my year of traveling. Time to get back to the real world," she said, using air quotes for the last words. "I invited Tran to visit me in Berlin, I hope she will."

Nina wasn't at all ready to give up the friendship she turned to in times of crisis. "I'm going to miss you like crazy. Have you already bought your return ticket?" She feared a future in which Emmi wouldn't be just a phone call away from sharing a cup of coffee in Z. An existential feeling of insecurity and inconsistency overwhelmed her. She never liked the transient aspect of life in an international city.