As I pass the lingering shoppers, they slowly turn toward me, arms out as if to touch me. Amir doesn’t answer. If the Touchers don’t die out, if they spread and no one stops them, survival will mean more than avoiding them. I give the same account I’ve told Maman, Amir, and others before, the same thing I told Afshin. I don’t know if our generation will ever get used to the empty world we’ve inherited.