They approached the university closer.
The features of the place began to grow clearer little by little.
The surrounding historical buildings carried that ancient character defining the heart of Paris: old stone walls, tall windows, and narrow streets accustomed to welcoming thousands of students each day.
The closer they drew to Sorbonne University, the busier the street became.
Students holding books in their hands.
Others standing in small groups talking before the start of lectures.
Sounds of laughter and discussions spread through the space, as though the university woke up with every step the students took toward its gates.
Lily walked beside Julia until they reached the courtyard near the university.
There, Julia slowed her pace slightly.
Lily noticed it, but she did not comment.
She saw Julia looking around in silence.
At the students passing beside her.
At the building she was accustomed to entering before.
At the place that was a part of her life before she began distancing herself from it.
Her look carried not merely fear.
There was something else in it.
Hesitation.
As if she were trying to know whether she still belonged to this place or not.
They paused for a moment in front of the university entrance.
Julia brought out her entry card from her bag, staring at it for a few seconds before moving.
Lily said softly: “Are you fine?” Julia raised her eyes to her.
It seemed she had not expected the question.
Then she nodded her head and said: “Yes…
I am fine.” She added nothing further.
And Lily did not try to press her.
They entered through the gate together.
Inside, everything moved rapidly.
Students heading to their halls.
Sounds of footsteps on the stone floor.
Overlapping conversations in the corridors.
The scent of books, papers, and coffee carried in the hands of some students.
Lily knew this place well.
To her, it was an ordinary day at the university.
Yet to Julia, the matter seemed different.
It was as if she were returning to a place she had been away from for a long time.
They walked along the main corridor.
And while Lily was thinking about her way to her lecture, she caught sight of Julia looking around once more.
She was trying to appear natural.
Trying to act as though returning to the university were a simple matter.
Yet Lily could notice that slight tension in her movements.
She said nothing.
She did not know Julia well enough to know what she needed.
Yet she remembered Madame Gondo.
And she remembered the way she had looked at her daughter before they departed.
That silent worry.
So she continued walking beside her.
Not because she knew how to help her.
Rather because she had promised to be with her until she arrived.
They stopped at the corridor where students separated into different halls.
Julia looked at Lily and said in a low voice: “Thank you for coming with me.” Lily was slightly surprised.
She was not expecting thanks.
In her eyes, she was merely fulfilling a promise she had made to Madame Gondo.
Yet she settled for a simple smile and said: “No problem.” Then she looked at her watch.
Lectures would begin shortly.
And now they had to head to their respective halls.
They moved slightly away from each other.
Yet before they parted, Lily looked at Julia one last time.
She still appeared quiet and shy.
Yet she was here.
And that alone was a step that was not easy for her.
After Lily parted from Julia, she continued her way inside the university building.
She knew the corridors well.
The number of steps needed to reach the halls.
The doors she had to pass by.
And the places where students gathered before the start of lectures.
Everything was familiar to her.
Yet despite that, there was one thing different this morning.
She was searching for him.
Adam.
She tried not to make the matter obvious even to herself.
She said inside that she only wanted to find him in order to apologize.
That was all.
Yet the truth was that a part of her had been waiting to see him from the moment she woke up.
She entered the long corridor leading to the lecture halls.
Her eyes moved between faces without her realizing it.
Every student passing beside her made her raise her gaze for a moment.
Every familiar voice made her turn slightly.
Yet Adam was not there.
She reached the hall shortly before the lecture began.
She chose her usual seat and sat down.
She placed her bag beside her, then brought out her notebook and a few pens.
She tried to focus on what was around her.
On the students’ chatter.
On the voice of the professor who was preparing to enter.
Yet a part of her mind remained somewhere else.
She brought out her phone for a moment.
She unlocked the screen.
She did not know why she did that.
She knew beforehand what she would see.
Even so…
She hoped.
She opened the chat.
Nothing new.
Adam had not turned on his phone yet.
She remained staring at the screen for seconds, then locked it quietly and returned it to her bag.
This time she did not feel the annoyance of last night.
For she would see him today.
At least that was what she kept telling herself.
The professor entered the hall, and the students began sitting in their places.
Lily brought out her notebook and tried to listen.
Yet as the minutes passed, her eyes moved occasionally toward the door.
Whenever someone opened it.
Whenever a late student entered.
She was waiting for Adam to appear.
Yet the lecture began.
And the door was closed.
And he did not enter.
Lily tried to return to the lesson.
She wrote a few notes.
She read what was before her.
Yet her focus was incomplete.
She knew she would have to wait until the end of the lecture.
Then she would search for him.
She would talk to him.
And she would put an end to this matter that remained hanging between them.
After a while, the lecture ended.
Students began gathering their things and talking about the next lecture.
Lily stood up slowly, placed her books inside her bag, then looked toward the corridor outside the hall.
This time she was not waiting for a message.
Nor was she waiting for an online status.
Adam was in the same university.
And she had only to find him.