There is a slow, charming Morrissey song that goes by the name "The Lazy Sunbathers", which tells the tale of people oblivious to the world around them, instead thinking only about how best to soak up the sun. Your situation was almost the reverse, right down to the commentator - he had nothing near the gentle understanding that Morrisey brings. No, this new narrator treated the matter with an acidic laugh and a mocking imitation, one which I suppose he thought I'd find amusing. The source of this entertainment was the most minor of acts, a gas mask to protect against fumes that we were clearly told about. It should go without saying that I did not find your caution in the face of a potential disaster at all odd. I could read your concerns, and was confident that your actions were from a pragmatic nonchalance, and nothing more.

As you walked past my window, mask neatly placed and most indiscreet amongst your calm features, I thought again of the secret insult he shared with me. I felt as though the world was too impossibly cruel, but also felt a surging sense of pride and hope in your confidence - I could sense an inspiring degree of indifference to whatever he said. My heart mixed with feelings of sympathy and gratitude, I only wished that I could have offered an embrace that suggested both. Yes, I know that you would care for neither of these things, but I will not retract my intent - let it be known that I would have gladly played the part of the fool, were it required. Respect though I now possess for you, ultimately, I only desire that the universe see just who it is I am.