Aurora never dreamt that she would one day walk the streets of Rome, feel the history soak into her skin and the rough streets beneath my canvass shoes. It is a place that puts into perspective the span of one life, that draws out notions of families as generations. Under this summer sun the stones are hot everywhere except the narrow streets where only at noon can the light strike them at all. It is a place of such ambience that her heart beats in contented rhythm and every one of my body movements as a slow relaxed flow like the Tiber.

And that too she was supposed to roaming along the streets of Rome with a handsome man whose only identity she knew was by his first name. And to be honest, for the first time in her life she was happy that she did not want to know anything more. Taking responsibility, ones which had been on her shoulders for too long and the ones which she would be taking up soon, all that seemed too far away now. It was her time to enjoy and she was going to do just that. Is it how people felt when they had a crush on someone?

And the thought of having a crush on a man was so embarrassing that she blushed deeply, tinting her fair cheeks with hints of red.

“You have no clue how charming you look when you blush, mia luca,” came the deep voice again from behind her.

Aurora knew that it belonged to Lucien so she smiled and said without facing him,” And you ought to stop coming from the back and surprising me.”

“Ah! Where is the fun in that?” asked Lucien as Aurora giggled. And truly she knew that she was behaving like a giddy school girl in his presence and it did not matter at all to her. She was happy just being with him and truly nothing else mattered.

“So what are the plans for today?” asked Aurora as they started walking towards Vatican and Lucien replied,” We are going to see the Vatican in the twilight, with the perfect rays of the sun coming in to make it look heavenly, just like you. But before that we are going to enjoy the charms of Rome which are literally known only very few people who have spent considerable time on the streets wandering like a vagabond.”

“You look like anything but a vagabond, Lucien,” chided Aurora in a soft voice and Lucien threw back his head and laughed out loud with a full heart.

They started walking hand in hand and Lucien kept on showing her this and that and all the small tidbits making her laugh and sometimes history made their mood somber.

“I never particularly understood why did they have to change the private parts of the angels from looking like the privates to fig leaves,” said Lucien as Aurora smiled softly and nodded at him.

“When Michelangelo finished his angels, there was no flaw in it. They were perfect and almost heavenly. The priests said, something so heavenly and so pure should not be shown to the people in such a crude manner. And then on night fall they broke away all the penises from the marbles and covered it with fig leaves by another sculptor who was not Michelangelo almost by the might. When Michelangelo saw what they had done in the morning he cried out in such despair that his masterpieces had been destroyed that he almost went to break everything that he had built over the year. But he was restrained at the last moment,” said Aurora as she breathed in deeply.

“It feels like you know a lot about this place. Even more than me…and that is really something of an achievement,” said Lucien with a soft lingering gaze on Aurora who smiled at the unexpected compliment.

“I have always loved history and specially the one which have been connected with art. I have been fascinated by the history of Vatican and now that I am finally here. It is really difficult to believe that I truly am here,” said Aurora and Lucien did not say anything, just squeezed her hand gently.

Finally they both came to the corner of the street where Aurora witnessed something she had never thought she would encounter.

On the street corner is a gelateria shaped like a fancy chocolate box. A line of locals and tourists alike stream from the open window, the newest customers walking away with every colour of ice cream on the fanciest of waffle cones. The scene is enough to draw a smile from my tired lips, it's right out of some children's book, the hues so perfect. The ground is made up of deep grey bricks and the buildings are the warm tones of sandstone. Against it the gelateria is pinks, blues, greens - almost bringing to mind a nursery for a baby.

“So what do you think?” asked Lucien as Aurora took pause for a moment and then said,” Are you sure that I am not really hallucinating and this thing that you are showing me, it is true?”

Lucien laughed at her words again and said,” What makes you think that I would have the vision to create something as beautiful as this? But yes, when I see something beautiful and precious I keep it close to my heart always!”

Aurora blushed at his words and then said clearing her throat,” This looks exactly what I would find in a picture-book for kids who would be trying to finding this kind of ice-cream store all over the town but then we would have to take them to the normal store and then they will come to understand that dreams and story books are not true. It breaks my heart to do something of the sort to any child at all.”

“You are going to be an excellent mother Aurora. You are still young and still the you know exactly what to describe to your child when it comes to stories,” said Lucien as he kissed the top of her head. The gesture warmed her heart.