Before Lily and Julia could head toward the door, Madame Gondo’s voice came from behind them.
“Wait a moment.” They stopped and turned to her.
Madame Gondo was standing behind the counter, holding a small paper bag in her hand, with that smile Lily was accustomed to seeing on her face.
She approached them, saying: “You are not going to the university without something to eat.” Julia tried to object gently.
“Maman, there is no need.
I am not hungry.” Yet Madame Gondo paid no attention to the objection, as if she had heard this exact phrase many times before.
She shook her head with a smile and said: “I know you always say that, but you need to eat something.” Then she opened the bag slightly and brought out some light snacks she had prepared herself.
She placed small pieces of sweets that Julia loved inside it, along with some sliced fruit and two fresh pastries she had made that morning.
Then she extended the bag toward them.
“Take this with you.
If you feel hungry between lectures, you will have something with you.” Julia took the bag from her mother’s hand quietly, looked at it for a moment, and said in a low voice: “Thank you, Maman.” Madame Gondo smiled and patted her hand.
“Do not thank me.
Just eat.” Then she turned to Lily and extended another small piece inside the bag toward her.
“And you as well, Lily.” Lily was slightly surprised.
She did not expect Madame Gondo to care about this as well.
She said quickly: “I am fine, there is no need…” However, Madame Gondo looked at her with the same fond gaze that left no room for refusal.
“Lily.” Lily paused.
Then she smiled and surrendered.
“Alright.” Madame Gondo laughed softly, as if she knew Lily would agree in the end.
Lily placed the bag inside her handbag, while Julia remained holding the other part of it.
They stood before Madame Gondo, preparing to leave.
The mother looked at her daughter for moments.
There was something of anxiety in her eyes, but she tried not to show it.
Today was not merely going to the university for her.
It was a small step.
A step making Julia step out of her closed world a little.
Then she said with a smile: “Enjoy your day.” Julia nodded her head.
As for Lily, she settled for a calm smile, saying: “We will return before the day ends.” Madame Gondo smiled at them, then waved her hand as they headed toward the door.
They left the cafeteria together.
Behind them, Madame Gondo remained watching them through the glass, carrying in her heart a small hope that this day would be a better beginning for her daughter.
Lily and Julia exited the Gondo Family Cafeteria, and the door closed behind them softly, while the sound of the small bell lingered for a moment in the background before fading into the street sounds.
Morning had begun taking its true shape in Paris.
Along Boulevard Saint-Germain, life moved slowly: cafes opening their doors, people walking with quick steps toward their work, and bicycles passing every now and then over the crowded sidewalks.
Lily walked beside Julia.
They did not need a means of transportation.
The university was not far, and Sorbonne University was close to the area where they stood, making the journey on foot shorter and easier.
Yet despite the short distance…
The silence between them was longer than the road itself.
Lily did not try to open a conversation.
Nor did Julia.
Each of them walked while immersed in her own thoughts.
Lily was thinking about the day waiting for her.
At the university.
In the lectures.
And in the moment she would meet Adam.
She tried to convince herself not to think too much about it, yet whenever she remembered that his phone was still switched off, that small anxiety returned inside her.
As for Julia…
She walked beside her very quietly.
Holding her bag with one hand and the paper bag given by her mother with the other.
She looked at times at the road ahead, and at times at the old buildings surrounding them.
She appeared as if trying to remember how it felt to be outside the house on an ordinary morning.
Paris around them was filled with sounds.
Laughter from inside cafes.
Sounds of distant cars.
Footsteps of passersby.
Conversations of people who knew nothing about them.
Yet between Lily and Julia, a strange stillness remained.
It was not an uncomfortable silence.
Rather, the silence of two people who did not know each other well enough to speak freely.
Lily felt at times that she ought to say something.
Anything.
Perhaps a simple question about university.
Or about lectures.
Yet she held back every time.
She did not know how to handle Julia.
She did not want to make her feel that she spoke with her only out of pity.
As for Julia, she seemed comfortable with this silence.
Perhaps because she was not ready yet for much talk.
Or perhaps because she only needed the presence of someone walking beside her without asking her to be better than she could manage.
Their steps continued over the ancient sidewalks of Paris.
The sun rose slightly.
Its light reflected on the stone facades of the buildings.
As they drew closer to the university, the number of students on the streets began to increase.
People carrying books.
Students talking with their friends.
Others hurrying for fear of being late for lectures.
Julia looked at the distant building whose features began appearing between the streets.
Sorbonne University.
She paused her gaze upon it for a brief moment.
She said nothing.
Yet Lily noticed that glance.
It was the look of someone standing before a place they knew well, yet feeling as if seeing it for the first time.