The Drowning Season

Maya found the bottle of prenatal vitamins in the bathroom cabinet three months after the miscarriage. She'd been hiding them there, buried behind expired sunscreen and half-empty bottles of painkillers. Each morning, she'd swallowed one with practiced determination, believing in their power to create something that would never exist.

Now she held the bottle, shaking it like a maraca. The pills rattled—tiny promises that had dissolved into nothing.

Her phone buzzed on the counter. Marcus's name lit up the screen. Again.

She stared at the iPhone, its surface smeared with fingerprints from both of them. They'd picked it out together at the store last year, laughing as they debated cases and screen protectors, so confident about their future. Now it was a tether she couldn't bring herself to cut.

In the living room, the television flickered silently. Marcus had fallen asleep watching something—she couldn't remember what. The HDMI cable he'd installed last month snaked across the floor, a black tributary feeding their mutual distraction. They'd spent more time deciding which cable to buy than talking about what they were losing.

Maya filled a glass with water from the tap. The pipes groaned in the walls, a sound like something dying far underground. She watched the water swirl, clear and merciless. How many nights had she stood here, drinking water in the dark while he slept?

She poured it down the sink.

The vitamins followed—one by one, the pills spiraled into the drain. Some stuck to the porcelain, defiant little white circles mocking her attempt at letting go.

The phone buzzed again.

"Pick up," the text read. "I know you're awake."

Maya turned on the faucet, watching water rush over the remaining pills, carrying them away in chaotic patterns. She felt something loosen in her chest—not relief, exactly. More like the moment after dropping something fragile and realizing you don't have to pretend it didn't break anymore.

She texted back: "I'm not coming to bed tonight."

Then she powered off the iPhone and set it on the counter, screen down, beside the empty vitamin bottle.