As soon as Lily heard those words from Madame Gondo, she calmed down a little.
She then got up from her seat and headed toward the cashier to pay, but Madame Gondo stopped her.
“Lily, your bill and that young man’s are on me today.” Lily looked at her.
“Madame Gondo, it’s…” Madame Gondo interrupted her.
“I told you, both of your bills are on me today.” Lily could not say anything after that.
“Thank you, Madame Gondo.
I was feeling sad, but after talking to you, I feel better.” Madame Gondo finished sweeping and approached Lily.
“Whenever you feel like you need someone to talk to about anything that is bothering you, you can come here at any time.” “Of course, Madame Gondo.
It is a great honor for me to hear you say those words.” Lily’s smile grew wider.
She was not used to hearing such words from almost anyone throughout her life.
Madame Gondo looked toward the staircase leading to the second floor, where the cafeteria was connected to the upper floor by a simple wooden staircase.
Then she looked back at Lily.
“Lily, you told me that you are in your second year of university.” “Yes, Madame.
I am in my second year.” Madame Gondo was still looking at her.
“Are you studying at Sorbonne University?” Lily looked at the glass window on the side of the cafeteria, thinking that she might see Adam, then turned her gaze back to Madame Gondo.
“Yes.
I am in the Faculty of Science and Engineering.” Madame Gondo smiled.
“You seem like a very respectful and well-mannered person, and a hardworking student.” Lily heard those words, but she was not surprised.
Her life had practically consisted of studying, mathematics, and physics.
“No…
I don’t think so, Madame Gondo.” Lily was modest, or perhaps she simply did not know her true academic abilities.
Madame Gondo looked toward the staircase leading to the second floor again.
“Can I ask you for something…?” She looked back at Lily.
“You can refuse or accept, depending on what you are comfortable with.” Lily smiled.
“Of course.
You can ask me for anything.
I will do whatever I can for you, Madame.” Madame Gondo’s expression became almost serious, but she maintained a slight curve at the corner of her mouth, making it look as though she were smiling.
“My daughter Julia also attends Sorbonne University.
She is a second-year student in the Faculty of Arts…” Madame Gondo’s expression softened even more.
“Hahaha…
She is the same age as you, Lily.” Lily looked at her with interest.
It was becoming clear to her that this was not going to be a simple request.
She had always been accustomed to following her parents’ orders, from studying and taking care of her physical fitness to maintaining her handsome and elegant appearance.
Madame Gondo continued.
“My daughter Julia is dealing with some psychological problems…” Madame Gondo stopped speaking for a few seconds, as if she were choosing her words carefully before saying them.
“She is suffering from depression.” Madame Gondo said the sentence as though it were something difficult for her to say.
Lily’s expression became slightly confused.
“D…
depression?” Madame Gondo looked at the floor for a moment before looking back at Lily.
“When her father and I got divorced and he left the house…” Madame Gondo stopped speaking and looked down at the floor again.
“Julia loved her father very much…
He was practically everything to her…
But when her father left, she became…” She looked back at Lily and continued after taking a breath, as though the words were pressing against her lungs.
“She began isolating herself in her room.
She even started missing lectures and no longer cared about going to university.
Little by little, she stopped leaving her room except on rare occasions.” Lily listened to Madame Gondo’s words and began thinking about her daughter, Julia, a girl who no longer went to university because her father had separated from her mother and left the house.
Lily was surprised.
Or perhaps she simply had never realized that there were people who could become so deeply saddened by such things.
Madame Gondo continued speaking while looking at the floor.
“I want you to try talking to her…
and…
even if it’s just a little, Lily…” Madame Gondo tightened her hands around her white apron.
“Oh, I think I’ve asked too much of you, Lily.
You know, an old woman like me is beginning to lose her mind and…” Lily interrupted her.
“Yes.
I will talk to her.” When Lily heard that someone else was asking for her help, those words were not merely words to her.
They were almost as if someone were willing to place their life in Lily’s hands.
Madame Gondo smiled.
“I am truly indebted to you, Lily.” Lily looked at her.
“And, Madame Gondo, you are not old.
You are a truly young and beautiful woman.” Madame Gondo smiled.
“…I am already in my late forties.
Just look at this.” Madame Gondo placed her hand on the chef’s head covering and moved it slightly backward.
“Look, I even have some gray hair.” Some strands of Madame Gondo’s dark black hair had indeed begun turning white.
Lily raised her head and looked at the white strands.
“What is wrong with that?
Does gray hair make women old?” Madame Gondo placed her palm on her hair and slowly ran her hand over it.
“Gray hair is a sign that a person has faced hardships in their life, problems and pressures.
Its presence means that a person is approaching the end.” Lily heard those words but did not understand them.
“That isn’t true.
There is no such thing.” Madame Gondo put her head covering back over her hair and began tucking some of the strands inside it.
“I thought that at first too…” Lily waited for Madame Gondo to continue, but Madame Gondo seemed to change the subject.
“Tell me, when will you meet Julia?
Choose any time when you are not busy.
It doesn’t have to be…” Lily interrupted her in a firm voice.
“I will meet her now.” Madame Gondo was surprised.
Lily had been crying only a few minutes earlier because her young friend had left her alone.
“Are you sure?
I mean, are you…
free?” Lily answered with a smile.
“Yes.”