The rules are easy.

Don’t hit people, or shout at them.
If they say you’re too close, you’re too close.
If they say don’t touch, you mustn’t touch.

When I grew up, people didn’t follow the rules.
Didn’t follow them with me.
That’s my excuse.

I know it’s not enough.

Michael Bird is a Romania-based writer and journalist, with stories published by Here Comes Everyone, Lune Journal, Bandit Fiction, Storgy, Grist and Bristol Short Story Prize, among others. As a journalist, his work has appeared in Vice, Politico, Mediapart, EU Observer, and Business Insider, and on the BBC and Deutsche Welle. See more at michaelbirdjournalist.wordpress.com.