Iris had listened attentively to all his words, her face covered by a veil of graceful melancholy. She paused for a second, trying to compose herself. She glanced at the mountains, their geometric silhouettes calmly burning in the indigo sky, then took his hand: “ Gaining a clearer understanding of the world and how it works is a paradoxically confusing experience. I have always assumed that, as you get older, you kind of learn to figure stuff out, you find the key to handle life, you finally take control. As it turns out, growing up is a painful experience. Or at least it has been for me. You slowly strip yourself of layers of childish obliviousness. The same obliviousness that protected you from the harsh realities of an often unpleasant world. Once you leave it you’re naked, vulnerable, exposed. At first, it’s just a crack, almost invisible to the human eye. The years go by and the cracks extends, it widens, it splits you in the middle. Before you know