Tortora -

“Then don’t watch,” she said. “Stay here. I’ll make you tea. We’ll listen to the rain.”

Tortora had never liked her name. In the old language, it meant dove, a thing of softness and sky. But Tortora was a woman built of river stones and hawthorn branches—angular, stubborn, and far too heavy for flight. tortora

“I’m afraid of watching another person leave.” “Then don’t watch,” she said

Enzo left the next morning. He didn’t say goodbye. Tortora didn’t expect him to. “Then don’t watch