The Longest Winter

Maria hadn't felt like herself since the layoffs. She moved through her apartment like a zombie, automating routines that once brought joy. The morning orange juice ritual—pulp-free, vitamin D fortified—was just another checkbox. She used to savor the bright acidity, the way it shocked her awake. Now she swallowed without tasting.

Her boyfriend Sam had noticed, of course. He'd bought her a goldfish last week, something alive to care for. It swam in endless circles in its bowl on the windowsill, its orange scales catching what little winter light made it through the glass.

"What did you name it?" he'd asked.

"Barnaby," she'd said, and immediately felt ridiculous for naming something that would forget her face every three seconds.

Tonight, Sam sat beside her on the sofa, his dog Rusty resting his head on her knee. The old Lab had been his ex-wife's dog, but now he was theirs—or at least, he was Sam's, and he tolerated Maria's presence with gentle loyalty.

"You're taking your vitamins, right?" Sam asked, not looking up from his book.

"Yes. Every day."

"Good." He turned a page. "I worry about you."

The goldfish swam to the surface, mouth opening and closing in silent prayer. Maria felt something crack open in her chest—a small, sharp thing like grief, or maybe hope.

"I'm not depressed," she said, though the words felt like stones. "I'm just... waiting."

"For what?"

She looked at the orange sunset bleeding across the walls, at the fish that remembered nothing and therefore never suffered, at the dog who loved them both without complication. Outside, snow was falling again.

"For spring," she said.

Sam closed his book and took her hand. His palm was warm, his fingers rough from work she couldn't imagine doing anymore. The goldfish did another loop. Rusty sighed against her leg, a long, contented exhale that seemed to say: this is enough, this here, this now.

"Spring comes," Sam said. "It always does."

She nodded, allowing herself to believe him for the first time in months. The vitamin supplements could wait until morning. Some things couldn't be fixed with pills alone.