The days were already getting cooler, but on days like today, when there wasn't a single cloud in the sky, one could still feel comfortable wherever the sunlight touched. It was Victoria's day off, and since the weather was favorable, she had suggested to Évelyne to accompany her on a stroll through the city. Perhaps run a few errands along the way, but mostly to achieve the simple goal of continuing to familiarize Évelyne with her new surroundings.

This sudden request for a walk had nothing to do with the fact that Victoria didn't appreciate Henry's previous offer to guide Évelyne. That would have been absurd. Because, well, her friend could proceed as he pleased in that regard—and she was well aware that Évelyne had already accepted his offer— but how would she look if, as her creator, she didn't make the effort to spend more time together outside the house?

Her fear of Évelyne had been slowly dissipating, realizing with each gesture and action of the creature that she possessed not the slightest hint of a killer instinct, despite the threats she made the first times they met. Victoria wouldn't vouch for her, but she trusted enough to know that she would be safe with Évelyne in any normal situation of daily life. She could even fall asleep in the same room as Évelyne and wake up unharmed hours later.

That's why, among other things, she decided to venture out into the streets in her company. This wasn't the first time they walked together through the urban core, but it was a novelty that they did it just for the sake of leaving the apartment and spending a good time together, not out of the urgent need to buy provisions or find a new outfit to replace Évelyne's shabby clothes.

No, that stage had already passed. And Victoria had realized, after the incident with Henry, that she should stop being so defensive when it came to her creature and start fulfilling her moral duty properly. Providing Évelyne with a place to stay, food, and studies wasn't enough. It couldn't be. It was a good progress, certainly, and the creature hadn't complained about the arrangement—on the contrary, she seemed quite grateful for everything, once the initial anger had passed. However, giving her all these things and simply letting her do whatever she could with them didn't sit quite right with Victoria. She was hiding, and she knew it herself.

Wasn't she hiding in vain? Because in just one afternoon with Henry, Évelyne seemed more relaxed than she had been with Victoria in a whole week. And it was evident why Victoria hadn't achieved the same result in such a short time: the creature and she already had a history of mutual distrust. The relationship between Henry and Évelyne, on the other hand, was like a blank canvas. Perhaps the creature could have reservations knowing that he was Victoria's friend, but Henry had absolutely no prejudice against her.

Victoria couldn't, no matter how much she liked the idea, forget where Évelyne came from. But she found it feasible to pretend that the traumatic events of two years ago had not happened. That, at least for the time they were in each other's company, they could behave like old friends who met under perfectly normal circumstances.
Perhaps it was a stretch of the imagination, but it was worth trying. This was no longer an experiment to see how the creature could behave in society, exposed to certain situations or treated in certain ways. The scientist wanted to know if there was a possibility of redemption, not only for Évelyne but for herself as well.

Victoria wanted to get along with her creation, and that's why they were now sitting at one of the tables in a local café, in the most secluded corner of the establishment, away from windows and any other customers passing by. Évelyne sat with her back to the counter, allowing Victoria to take the chair in front of her—a usual choice considering how she had been behaving since they met: always choosing the most discreet place and letting the scientist deal with people on her behalf to avoid drawing attention to herself.

Honestly, it was an exaggerated precaution, knowing that no one had reprimanded her in those months, either for her appearance or her behavior. But considering everything she had been through, Victoria wasn't going to emphasize that she was probably worrying about trivial matters. They might not be trivial to Évelyne. And, thinking about her own fears, it seemed very plausible that others might consider the things still haunting Victoria on some nights as trivial too.

Nevertheless, and despite everything, Victoria couldn't help but be curious when she asked, once their respective drinks had been served and she saw Évelyne maneuvering to take a sip from her own cup:

"Have you ever thought about taking off the veil?"

"How?"

Ah, it was obvious that Évelyne would react with confusion. That veil had quickly become her main shield when leaving home. She never went without it.

When Victoria gave it to her, she thought she would use it for a couple of weeks while getting used to spending more time among humans. But in the end, she adopted it as an indispensable garment that she would never take off in public. And honestly, it seemed a bit of a waste. Victoria, who was used to seeing Évelyne without that extra layer of protection in the apartment, didn't think the creature had particularly unpleasant features.

"I was just thinking," the scientist continued with a relaxed air, "wouldn't you feel like taking it off sometime? I'm not saying you should do it now, tomorrow, or in a month. It's not even a suggestion; I'm just curious."

"If I take off the veil, people will stare at my face," the creature stated. "And they already watch me enough when they notice my height."

"Debatable. First of all, your height is above average, that's a fact. Maybe those who are shorter or those who believe that a woman shouldn't be so tall might look at you with curiosity the first time you enter their field of vision. But beyond that, how many people have you seen staring at you for more than those initial seconds or even saying things about your appearance?"

"I guess if I mention all those humans who threw stones at me or ran away from me at some indeterminate moment from when I escaped your laboratory until you finally found me, you're going to tell me that doesn't count."

Évelyne guessed right. It wasn't the first time Victoria dismissed such experiences, pointing out that they could have happened due to a mix of circumstances: because the scenario made them see what wasn't there, because the creature was dirty and poorly dressed, and therefore gave the wrong impression, because those people were simply foolish... There was a world of possibilities.

"No, it doesn't count. It's in the past, and right now your situation and appearance are different. Could it happen to you again in the future? We don't know, it's possible. The point is that at the present moment, and since you've been traveling with me, I haven't seen you attract so much attention to reach that... Or am I wrong?"
Victoria hadn't been with Évelyne every day, twenty-four hours a day. It was entirely possible that things— not necessarily bad ones— had happened of which she was not aware.

"You're not wrong," the creature affirmed, still not very certain of her words.

"The second thing I was going to say is that... You haven't answered my question," Victoria continued, realizing that Évelyne looked at her with an inquisitive expression. She specified, "You've told me what you think would happen if you take off the veil, but that's not what I asked."

"In an ideal world, not only would I take off the veil, but I would also stop wearing black," Évelyne sighed. "Don't get me wrong. I'm grateful for getting these clothes; in fact, I'm satisfied with their color in the sense that they achieve the goal of not drawing attention. But spending all my time in clothes so devoid of color... It's a bit depressing."

"After all, black is the color of mourning. People who see you may assume that either you're going through the loss of a loved one, or you dress in such a discreet and respectable way on purpose, either because you like it or because you're in a job that requires such attire."

"I've seen a lot of people who don't dress like that, who wear colors that are a little more... I won't say vibrant or even light, but just not completely dark. Especially young people."

"And do you want to dress like that?"

"Maybe a dress in a green or dark red color would look nice," Évelyne's eyes sparkled as she said this, and Victoria had to remind herself that she absolutely couldn't offer to buy her such a dress. Convincing her to remove a meager veil would be challenging enough; changing her entire wardrobe suddenly would only overwhelm her, no matter how wonderful it might be.

"I'll propose something," Victoria interjected, not planning to give up now that the topic was out in the open. "How about we make it a goal from now on that someday you'll be able to go out dressed however you like?"

"It seems like you have a lot of imagination."

Victoria smiled. The comment was halfway between skepticism and a teasing tone without malice; it wasn't an absolute refusal.

"I'm not talking about taking whatever clothes you want and going out to the street one day to see how the world reacts. I mean something more discreet," the scientist continued. "We could start slowly, taking off the veil for a few minutes in a public place. And later, as you gain more confidence, increase the time you spend with your face uncovered."

"Suddenly, you seem very eager to see my face."

"And why wouldn't I be? You don't look bad with your face uncovered. It would be a waste if you hid it forever."

Évelyne opened her mouth to respond and promptly closed it again, surprised by that admission. Victoria also suddenly felt uncomfortable; she didn't know why she had said that. It was the truth of what she thought, yes, but was it necessary to comment on it?

Victoria understood why the creature had been left speechless. It was likely that, by challenging her in this way, she expected her creator to back down from her statements, to say that she had no interest in how she dressed, and that the subject would die down on its own. In a million years, she couldn't have imagined the conversation would take this turn.

"As I was saying, it's not an obligation," Victoria continued, more eager than anyone to move past that awkward moment. "I'm not suggesting that you take off the veil in a crowded place, or even that you pay attention to how many people are around... I think that would even be counterproductive. But you could try taking it off, for example, when you're on one of your walks in the park and see that there's no one around, to start."

"I could do that, I suppose," Évelyne conceded. "At the hours I usually go, there usually aren't that many people, and even if there were, the place is extensive enough to find a corner where no one would bother me."

"We have a deal, then. The next time you pass by there, try doing that for, let's say, at least a couple of minutes. Then, when you come back, you can tell me how it went."

Victoria had high hopes for this plan because, considering how cautious Évelyne was with everything she did in public, it was extremely likely that the only witnesses in the park would be pigeons. And the creature wasn't so sensitive as to be offended if they took flight upon seeing her.

"Or, I could also..." Évelyne began this time, discreetly trying to look around without daring to turn in her seat for a better view of the cafe. "If there's no one..."

"There are two people behind you, at the counter," Victoria indicated, instantly catching on to what she was trying to do. "And a couple at a table to your right, about five or six meters away, but they're not looking in this direction."

"Three minutes. No more."

The scientist wasn't going to argue with her or try to negotiate an extension. It was satisfaction enough to see Évelyne pull the veil away from her face, without removing her hat but exposing herself in the middle of a commercial establishment when she had no need to do so.

"Are you going to be counting the time?" Évelyne inquired, or rather demanded, pointing to a pocket watch whose chain always hung from Victoria's vest.

This startled Victoria slightly, who had unwittingly been observing the other fulfill her promise, smiling with the satisfaction of a job well done. Did she really plan to take it so seriously as to control second by second how long she stayed uncovered in the world? It seemed absurd to Victoria, but she wasn't going to refuse to comply with the request when Évelyne had so easily agreed to it.

Therefore, she took out her watch and began the timing. No one could say she wasn't in favor of the effort.

"And since we're at it, I wanted to ask you a question," Évelyne now seemed willing to avoid making a spectacle of this matter, steering the conversation away from anything related to her appearance. "As I mentioned the other day, Henry had the courtesy of inviting me for a walk with him and a friend of his. We had planned to meet this Saturday morning."
"Are you asking for permission, perhaps?" Victoria interjected. "You know it's not necessary. As long as you let me know in advance on the days I'm at home so that I don't have to wait for you to eat, it's enough. You can go wherever you want without consulting me."

"Uh... Yes, thank you, but I already know that. It wasn't permission I was seeking, but rather asking if, maybe, would you like to come?"

Évelyne had hesitated a bit as she reached the end of her lines, as if she and Victoria had just met and she wasn't sure how such an invitation would be taken.

"Are you asking me to join you?"

"It was Henry's idea. Perhaps he noticed I was a bit hesitant about meeting Georg and suggested that you could come with us, so that we'd be even in number or something like that."

"It smells like a strategy to get me out of the house on my day off," Victoria muttered suspiciously. "That guy is always complaining that I don't have a social life because I'm too immersed in work. Before, he more or less left me alone, but since I moved, he's been excessively insistent on that topic. So, he probably wanted to help you, but at my expense too."

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," and, paraphrasing what her creator had said earlier about going out without the veil, she added, "It's not obligatory."

"No, I'll go. I owe Henry a favor, I'm curious to see how you handle yourself, and let's not fool ourselves. Some fresh air and company will do me good," then slamming shut the lid of her watch, she declared, "Three minutes completed. Are you going to...?"

She hadn't finished asking the question when, in silence, the creature once again adjusted the veil.

"Well, you've managed to go without it for a while. That's progress."

"Do you really not mind coming?"

Évelyne's doubts were normal, as Victoria had never before signed up for any activity that involved socializing, beyond those occasions related to the usual shopping or her studies, where there was no other choice.

"Not at all. In fact, I think in this case, I'm the one most interested in you meeting more like-minded people so that, hopefully, you'll get it out of your head to create another creature specifically to keep you company."