There was no guidebook or answer to what she was doing. This was all well and good, but the truth was Themis was ready to implode. It was ridiculous that a walk behind the library should have her so out of sorts. She felt like a girl again in the worst of ways. Her arms felt too long, her legs eating up the ground as she focused on slowing her stride. And what was she to do with her hands? For a moment, the basic mechanics of the body seemed overwhelming. Walking, talking, and thinking at the same time, suddenly feeling monumental.

As she mentally fretted about things that hadn't concerned her since puberty, Samuel had led them to a lonely tree and its bench. He offered her his hand, and her emotions did another burst of fretting. It would be rude to deny his offered hand. That's how she would justify this unwise decision. She took his offered hand, and the gentle squeeze she gave him was the best she could offer. I'm here. I'm here with you. Letting go took more effort than expected.

The day felt colder as she released his hand, now sitting beside him in the stark courtyard. "I do not mind the cold, but I am eager for the spring. The world looks too bleak like this." A silly statement when everything in the last two weeks felt sterile and miserable.

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