Sunlight streamed through the glass of the perfumery door.
The ray of light struck directly against Lilith's sleep-deprived face. She was sitting on the stool behind the counter, her gaze fixed on a dead point between two glass shelves. Her heel tapped relentlessly against the wooden floor.
Her lips barely moved, forming words without sound.
"What if it's not there?" she whispered. "What if that book never existed?"
The heel stopped for a second. Then it resumed tapping.
"Or maybe it's somewhere else in the library..."
The creak of a plank on the staircase interrupted the rhythm of her foot.
The master was coming down the steps, buttoning his vest. He stopped halfway. His eyes widened in surprise upon seeing her already settled at the counter.
"Lilith?" he asked, descending the last steps. "What are you doing here at this hour? The sun has barely risen."
She did not take her eyes off the dead point on the wall.
"I couldn't sleep. I just couldn't fall asleep."
The master walked toward the door. He passed by her side. His steps slowed. He glanced at her. The dress was the same as the day before. The skirt was stained with a dark dust, similar to soot. Her hair, usually neat, fell in uneven knots over her shoulders. There were faint scratches on her hands.
He said nothing. He took the doorknob.
"I'll go out to get the week's supplies," he said.
The door closed.
Lilith returned to her trance. The heel resumed its tapping.
"And now... how do I find out more about that book? It's impossible to figure it out on my own walking across rooftops. I need more information. From the inside."
Several streets away, the master walked along the cobblestones of the morning market.
He dodged the carts of vegetable vendors, but his mind remained in the shop. Something about Lilith's posture, her disheveled clothes. She did something during the night, and it wasn't gentle. He couldn't define what.
He reached the usual store. He placed the order. The shopkeeper packed the goods. The master looked toward the adjacent glass counter.
"I'll take that as well," he pointed.
He paid the coins. Took the sacks and the small additional package. He started the walk back.
In the shop.
The master pushed the door open with the sacks in his arms. He stopped short.
The counter was no longer empty. A pile of old paper rolls, yellowed parchments, and accounting books covered the wooden surface. Lilith was unrolling one in a hurry, pushing sample bottles toward the edges.
"What is all this?" he asked, setting the sacks on the floor.
She let go of the parchment. Turned to look at him.
"I was looking for a map of the city," she said, placing her hands on the papers. "I was thinking that, if we did well in the market yesterday, we would also do well if we went house to house."
He narrowed his eyes. Looked at the mess. Pointed toward a piece of furniture tucked into the opposite corner of the shop.
"It's over there."
Lilith immediately walked toward the piece of furniture. She crouched down to search.
"By the way..." his voice stopped her. "I wanted to bring you something."
Lilith froze. She straightened up slowly.
She approached the counter. The master extended his hand. Resting on his palm was a small paper box adorned with a rustic ribbon. He opened it in front of her. Inside, two dark chocolate bonbons gleamed faintly.
"This... is... like..." Lilith looked at the bonbons. Her fingers brushed the edge of the box. She didn't know what to do with her hands.
"Try it."
She took one. She placed it in her mouth. The sweet and bitter flavor flooded her palate. She chewed slowly.
"It's delicious," she said, running her tongue over her lips. "Why did you bring this to me?"
The master looked away toward the perfume shelves.
"I just wanted to give you something after you motivated me to go out yesterday."
Lilith held the box.
"Thank you."
He nodded with a tense smile. He turned around and went up the stairs, his steps fading into the second floor.
The sun moved across the windows. The morning passed in silence.
Lilith unrolled the map over the counter. She took a quill and a parchment.
Her eyes scanned the black ink lines. Streets. Districts. Alleys. She began to write on a blank parchment. She traced routes. Marked important houses. These properties usually had much larger grounds, drawn as isolated blocks on the outskirts of the city.
She wrote down each one of them. Family names. Addresses.
She stopped.
Her eyes locked onto a name.
The same surname. The surname of the girl from the Profot house. The girl to whom she had slipped the heart-shaped mirror under the door.
If it was her. If it was her family. She could continue her project from inside that house.
Lilith's lips curved upward. She couldn't help but smile.
"Lilith."
She startled. The quill slipped, leaving a stain of ink on the wood.
The master was standing right behind the counter. She hadn't heard him come down.
"Did you find anything on that map?" he asked, fixing his gaze on the parchment filled with notes.
"Y-yes. I have a list of potential clients."
The master leaned in to read the surnames. He straightened quickly. Swallowed.
"Uh... hey," his voice became shaky. "But these people are of a very high level. They're not for me."
Lilith turned her body.
"What? But you spend all day working on these perfumes. How could they not be enough?"
He rubbed his hands against his pants. Shook his head.
"But I don't know any of them. I don't have an invitation."
"It doesn't matter," Lilith tapped the list lightly with her index finger. "We go to their house and offer an aroma tasting."
"They'll throw us out."
"The only thing we would lose is time or being told no," Lilith took a step toward him. Her tone lowered. "Besides... if even one of them accepts, you would stop being a neighborhood perfumer. You would become a renowned perfumer."
The master remained silent.
His eyes dropped from Lilith's face to the parchment. He looked at the list of names. His hands stopped rubbing against the fabric of his pants. He stood there, thoughtful, motionless in the center of his shop.