Came across this and could not put it down.
“Even though you did not make it to the end of my story, I will always have the corner turned down on your page, because it was one of my favorites.”
Most takes on loss are exhausting. They demand closure and a tidy ending you can post. This one folds a corner. Stops. Marks the page. Moves on without making a production of it.
The dog-ear is the move. The unfinished thing was a favorite anyway. The page was read.
Some people stay for the whole book. Some leave at the corner. Either way the book gets read.
