From the first steps, I felt like I was entering uncharted territory, entirely untouched and wild, where no human had set foot beyond the small path we were walking. Alessandro walked beside me, asking trivial questions just to keep up the conversation, while my mind wandered about the true reason he had brought me there.
I feared he might attempt to use this retreat, a house in the mountains, to play games with me again, to give me false hope, and after the walk, torment me with his indifference. After answering how I had been feeling in the past weeks since my discharge from the hospital, I grew tired of the routine chatter and decided to take some initiative.
"May I know why we've come, sir?" I tried to be polite and respectful, but the tone of my voice revealed my growing annoyance.
