I CONSIDER THEM MY FRIENDS

"Ah! I must have surprised you with this bucket of flowers, right?" Instead of answering Luca's question, the man asked him back.

The man was quite old, and all of his hair had turned grey. There was only a thin layer of hair covering his scalp, indicating that he had lost a lot of it due to his old age. Even his back didn't look very straight anymore, which was why he looked a little shorter than Luca when he stood next to the young man.

The old man was holding two buckets of flowers in each hand, but then he moved the bucket in his right hand to his left before extending his right hand towards Luca, hoping for a handshake.

"You can call me Damian. How should I address you, young man?" The old man asked, still waiting for Luca to accept his handshake.