Without Rescue

Once, while she was drowning, I saw her head break the surface for a moment.

She sat on the living room floor as she told me she wanted to leave him, but his family would never allow it. “Marriage is for life.”

I froze. I didn’t know it then, but my own flimsy lifeboat was capsizing.

She took a sip of wine and wiped away the tears sliding down her cheeks. Unable to stomach the silence, I asked hollowly how her job was going.

Years later, she posted a family Facebook photo. Though she smiled, her eyes didn’t have wrinkles.