Market Corrections

The screen flashed red at 3:14 AM—emergency text from Sarah's sister. *She's gone.* Tom stared at his iPhone, the blue light searing his retinas in the darkness of their—his—apartment. Three weeks since she walked out with her suitcase and her coffee maker, leaving nothing but half-empty closets and a note that said *I can't do this anymore.*

Outside, lightning fractured the sky, illuminating the sudden emptiness of the room they'd shared for seven years. He'd sold his Tesla position yesterday against his better judgment—*take the profit,* his broker had said, *the market's running on pure bull sentiment.* Now that same broker was probably sleeping soundly while Tom sat here, 42 years old, freshly divorced, and somehow unable to process that Sarah was actually dead.

The announcement on his trading app had come through an hour ago: *Major tech CEO dies in tragic accident.* Her company's stock would gap down at the open. He should have been calculating positions, sizing up the entry point. Instead he was scrolling through photos from 2019—Sarah on that balcony in Barcelona, laughing with wine in her hand, the cathedral glowing golden behind her. She'd left him because he'd stopped seeing her. Only saw market trends, risk profiles, the eternal upward graph of wealth accumulation.

Another lightning strike, closer this time. The thunder shook the windows. His iPhone buzzed again—a calendar reminder: *Dinner with Sarah, 7 PM.* He'd set it months ago, back when he still remembered to schedule the things that mattered. He should cancel it. Should delete it.

Tom's finger hovered over the notification. Then he opened his trading app instead. Sold everything. Every position. Closed the account.

The market opened in four hours. He'd be there, standing on a pier somewhere, watching the ocean do what markets never could—rise and fall without destroying anyone.

He placed the iPhone on the nightstand, screen down, and watched the lightning paint the ceiling in violent flashes of white, thinking how the market always corrected itself eventually. Sometimes you just had to be the one to take the loss.