CHAPTER 266 — Returning Home

The family began to scatter shortly after the wedding, as if the day were breaking into inevitable pieces no one wanted to gather up completely.

No one said it out loud, but everyone felt it with painful clarity: staying was hard, but leaving was hard too. Every goodbye carried a small act of resignation.

Some headed to Colonia, others to Maldonado, and others back to the countryside. Martina and Elián would be returning to Madrid.

They didn’t want to leave so soon.