She was tired, with that tiredness that only emptiness brings.

It was strange to find them here, still alive, with their shared bits of past that suddenly counted for nothing.

You'll get used to it. In the end you won't even notice it anymore," he said. "How is that possible? It will always be there, right before my eyes." "Exactly," said Mattia. "Which is precisely why you won't see it anymore.

She was tired, with that tiredness that only emptiness brings.

With a little effort, she could get up by herself

She hadn't chosen him over all the others. The truth was that she hadn't even thought about anyone else.

Do you really like studying?" Mattia nodded. "Why?" "It's the only thing I know how to do," he said shortly. He wanted to tell her that he liked studying because you can do it alone, because all the things you study are already dead, cold, and chewed over. He wanted to tell her that the pages of the schoolbooks were all the same temperature, that they left you time to choose, that they never hurt you and you couldn't hurt them either. But he said nothing.