Chapter 256: Rome and Julie, on the tree

Julie and Roman sat on one of the branches of the tree, away from the people where the sky had turned dark, making it hard for anyone to spot them. She had placed both her hands on either side of her body, feeling the surface of the uneven branch, whilst she stared ahead of her. 

"You know...you inspire me," Julie said to Roman, and he turned his gaze and noticed her still staring at nothing in particular. Lost in her thoughts and somewhere present while also absent for the last couple of minutes. "You have lost so many people over the years... and it must have been harder on you, yet you are strong."

"I don't think the word strong here is right," pointed Roman, and he placed his head on his knee, which he had pulled up to place it on the thick branch of the tree that they were sitting on. "All of us process grief differently. Some feel too much, and some don't feel anything. Here we both feel, but you speak about it, and I channel it elsewhere."