“That’s a good throw,” Nino whispered.
Every night at sunset, without fail, Giorgi would walk over to Nino’s stall. He never bought anything. Instead, he would hand her a single wildflower—a daisy, a buttercup, or sometimes just a sprig of fragrant kekela (savory) he had plucked from the roadside. love don 39-t cost a thing qartulad
For the next week, Zura returned. He brought her Italian leather shoes. He brought her a smartphone with a cracked screen that he claimed cost two thousand lari. He brought her a bottle of French perfume that smelled like a stranger’s grandmother. “That’s a good throw,” Nino whispered
Zura’s face flushed. “Why? What does he have?” He pointed at Giorgi. “A box of broken radios? A future in a damp stall?” Instead, he would hand her a single wildflower—a
He looked at Nino like she was a stall he intended to buy.
(Siq’varuls puli ar sč’irdeba)
On the seventh day, Zura made his final offer. “Close the stall. Come to Tbilisi with me. I will buy you an apartment near Vake Park. You will never touch another walnut again.”