The morning of the forum began with rain.

Not the kind that rattled windows or flooded sidewalks, but a fine, steady mist that softened the city’s edges. From the car window, the buildings looked blurred at the corners, as if the day itself had not fully decided what it wanted to be. Julian drove without speaking, one hand steady on the wheel, the other resting quietly on the space between us. I watched the water trail across the glass and let the silence settle in my chest like something ...