Chapter 126

• On the walk back to the boutique, the air felt fresher, as though the city had quietly changed while we were eating. A light breeze moved through the streets, carrying the faint scent of baked bread from a bakery we passed and the sharper tang of coffee from a roaster down the block. We didn’t rush. There was no reason to. The orders were still waiting, but the urgency had been replaced with something slower, something that matched the pace of our footsteps.
• Claudia told a small story about a customer she had met last week who used to be a tailor’s apprentice in another country. She had bought a single scarf and spent nearly twenty minutes running her fingers over the fabric, telling Claudia how it reminded her of home. Simone listened, smiling faintly at the way Claudia’s voice lifted when she described the customer’s expression. It was a small reminder that even in the middle of heaviness, moments of light still made their way through.
• By the time we reached the boutique and unlocked the door, the space felt different to me. Not because anything had changed physically, but because the quiet strain I had felt earlier was no longer pressing against the walls. I had learned over the years that a room carries the weight of the people inside it. When the people ease, even a little, the room does too.