Au re voir

I'm not good at goodbyes. I have a long history of this.

When we would go to India, my uncle Prabha would always say "I'll just go and come back" (in Malayalam.) It took me a long time before I ever actually asked where he was, since he'd said he'd be back. That's when my mom explained that you don't actually say you're leaving - you just say that you're going to go...and come back. Like most slightly inexplicable Malayalam things, I think it's a superstition. (And there are many superstitions about exits - my mother gets really upset if you come back in the house because you forgot something. She also gets mad if you leave shoes or a broom by the door.)

Leaving DC means leaving the life I've made there - the family, friends, classmates, etc. I kept meaning to have some kind of party or happy hour. As usual, life got in the way, but more than that, I realised I simply did not want to say goodbye. It's not that I didn't want to move, just that I wasn't up for the gut-wrenching repeated ad infinitum. So, I slipped out like a teen that's been grounded. I apologize, but it's what I had to do.

French is quite similar to Malayalam with regard to taking one's leave. Goodbyes are constructed as "à" (to or until) plus a time.
A bientôt - see you soon
A demain - until tomorrow

Au revoir - until I see you again.