Alexander Koryagin:

AK> What should happen to me to make me say instead of
AK>
AK>    ..they didn't stop weeping when I left them.
AK>
AK> this variant:
AK>
AK>    ..they didn't stop weeping when I took my leave of them.
AK>

Perhap you do not realise the difference between leaving and
taking leave.  In my opinion, the latter is more polite in
that it includes some sort of verbal acknowledgement and
mutual consent to the parting, after a conversation or
another mutual engagement.

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