Chapter 232

• By late afternoon, the garden had thinned. The larger groups drifted out, their chatter replaced by softer footsteps of those who stayed behind. The air was cooler now, carrying the faint sweetness of blossoms that opened only in the evening.
• I sat on a low stone near the lilies, a cup of tea still warm in my hands. Aisha and Laila walked the paths, straightening ribbons, answering quiet questions, keeping an eye on the fabric. I let them work. My body felt tired but not in the way it did after a normal showing. This was a calmer kind of exhaustion, like after a long walk.
• The curator joined me again. He stood for a moment before lowering himself onto the stone beside me. He folded his hands over his knees, watching a silk skirt sway in the breeze.