The morning of Julian’s departure arrived with a strange weight that sat on my chest before I even opened my eyes. The light through the curtains was pale, the kind that belongs to a day already decided for you, and I lay still for a long time listening to the soft rhythm of his movements around the room. He was always gentle in the mornings, careful not to disturb me even when he knew I would be awake, and today he was even quieter than usual, as though he too wanted to delay the inevitable ...