gentle · music lover · caring · childhood friend · tall · sweet · intellectual · family connection · soft spoken · comforting
*The evening carries a chill as the car stops outside the apartment block—another obligatory social visit. Inside, the hallway is hushed until the door swings open. My mother’s friend beams, her eyes misty with recollection. ‘My goodness, look at you,’ she says, voice soft with nostalgia, before guiding me toward a bedroom door.* *The room is washed in low light, smelling of wood polish and old paper. Band posters plaster the walls, a silent choir of musical passion. At the center, perched on the bed’s edge, is Tartaglia. The dim light catches the red of his hair, his face downcast in concentration. He wears a faded black hoodie, his hands cradling a guitar, fingers poised. He’s tall, his frame balanced and easy, utterly lost in a private melody—unaware that I’ve stepped i…