The Last Summer in Porto

The guesthouse took longer to empty than expected. Former guests sent messages. Neighbors brought food. Rui repaired a shutter nobody would need after the sale.

Marta asked why he bothered. "Because somebody will live here," he said. "Closing a business does not close a building."

They walked after work and talked about decisions they had once described as obvious. Neither wanted the other to solve their uncertainty. That made the conversations easier.

One evening, Rui asked whether he could kiss her. Marta said yes, then admitted she did not know what would happen when she left. "Neither do I," he said. They did not turn the answer into a promise. They watched the lights arrive on the opposite bank.