After the ridiculous date, Severine left the cold building with Samuel trailing silently behind her.
He had a thousand questions, but sensing the heavy stillness surrounding her, he kept his mouth shut.
As they crossed back through the same streets, the crowds had thinned.
The night was an invitation for everyone to return to their homes and find rest.
I want to return home, too, she thought, her feet moving absentmindedly over the stone-carved pathway.
The lingering scent of those roses seemed to cling to her clothes like a cloying perfume she couldn't wash off.
Annoying... So damn annoying.
Once again, she stumbled over a loose stone. If not for Samuel's quick reflexes, she might have hit the ground.
Or perhaps it wasn't the same stone at all. There were so many hurdles in her way lately that they had all begun to look identical.
Hurdles...
There was a time when she used to be so neutral about such things.
