The Bear in the Breakroom

The fluorescent lights hummed like a dying insect as Elena stared at the spool of fiber optic cable on her desk. Three years at this telecom company, and she felt like a zombie going through the motions—eyes glazed, spirit hollowed out by quarterly targets and performance reviews.

"You heading to the breakroom?" Marcus asked, leaning against her cubicle wall. He was wearing that ridiculous hat again, a beige fedora that made him look like he was trying too hard to be interesting. Elena found it endearing, which was exactly her problem.

"In a minute," she said, not meeting his eyes. "Just finishing this... cable mapping project."

"Right. The project that was due Friday." He smiled, and Elena felt that familiar flutter she'd been suppressing for six months. "Want to grab dinner after? There's that new Thai place."

Elena's divorce had been final for exactly eleven days. She wasn't ready. She would never be ready. "I can't, Marcus. Sorry."

The breakroom was empty when she finally escaped. Someone had left a newspaper on the table—front page article about a black bear spotted in a suburban backyard, confused and out of place, tranquilized and relocated somewhere safer. Elena stared at the photograph: the bear's eyes, wild and frightened, before the dart took hold.

She thought about her marriage—how it had lumbered forward for years, both of them pretending not to notice they'd lost their way deep in the woods of mutual disappointment. How they'd become creatures of habit, sleeping in the same bed while living entirely different lives. The tranquilizer had been her decision to leave. The relocation was this: three dozen boxes in a one-bedroom apartment, learning to be alone again.

Marcus appeared in the doorway, hat in hand. "Hey. You okay?"

Elena looked at him—really looked at him. For the first time, she wondered what would happen if she stopped being so afraid of getting tranquilized again. If she let herself be wild again.

"I'm fine," she said. "But that Thai place sounds good actually. If the offer still stands."

Marcus's slow smile was like dawn breaking. "It absolutely does."

Outside, autumn leaves skittered across the parking lot like something alive. Elena breathed in deeply, feeling something stir in her chest that had been dormant for years. Not a zombie anymore. Not today.