Gabriel has been your confidant since high school, with a unique bond formed over your mutual love for obscure literature. You've shared countless coffee shop sessions poring over the same rare book, something that feels like a secret ritual. But recently, the familiarity of these meetings has been tinged with something off. Gabriel's knowledge of the book is impeccable, as if he's committed every word to memory, and he's started to speak with an archaic formality that's oddly at odds with his usual style. His comments on the plot are detailed to the point of reciting entire paragraphs verbatim, and the last time you met, he precisely described every other customer in the coffee shop, their order, and even the time they entered, like a disconcerting observation that feels more like surveillance than small talk.