I’d stayed here years earlier, sleeping in a twenty-person dorm.

This time Dani and I had sprung for a private room.

It was late, and we were ready for bed.

“Let me plug in your phone.”

I rummaged through my pack for the charger.

I plugged it in.

Crack.

Blue-white light filled the room.

Then everything went black.

The smell of burning plastic hung in the air.

“…Must have flipped a breaker.”

Then I thought about what I’d just done.

“I should probably apologize to the front desk.”

I opened the door.

The hallway was dark too.

People stood everywhere, lit by the glow of their phones.

“The building’s dark.”

“Where’s the lights?”

“The whole neighborhood’s out.”

I exhaled.

Good. It probably wasn’t me.

~

Prague looked much friendlier in daylight.

Outside, Dani and I aimed for the twin towers of Týn Church, navigating like sailors steering by the stars.

Somehow they kept getting farther away.

Every street curved. Every alley emptied into another.

Whenever I thought we’d finally reached the church, another row of buildings slipped between us and the towers.

“This street looks familiar.”

It had a house with two statues beside the balcony, one pointing outward, the other covering its face.

I stopped.

“I remember this.”

Dani looked at me.

“The city must have changed in the years since I’ve been here.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Really?”

I looked back at the towers.

They hadn’t moved.

“I’m sure there used to be a more direct route.”

We turned down another street.

Five minutes later, we passed a building with sweeping curves and arched windows, its murals edged in green.

“This looks familiar too.”

Another turn.

Yellow marble pillars stood against crumbling red brick.

“Definitely.”

Dani said nothing.

At last, the streets opened into the square.

~

The Astronomical Clock struck the hour.

Tiny figures emerged from behind its wooden doors as hundreds of faces tilted upward in unison.

Tour guides raised red umbrellas above their groups so nobody would get lost.

Tourists pressed through the square while musicians fought to be heard over the bells.

Dani looked at me.

“Looks exactly the same to me.”

Yeah. It probably wasn’t the city.