The Poolside Prophet

Margaret sat by the apartment complex's pool at 3 AM, the water still and dark as obsidian. In her hand, a solitary vitamin D supplement caught the dim light—her doctor's orders after she confessed she hadn't left the house in weeks since David left.

The stray cat, a ragged orange tom she'd named Buster, appeared from the shadows like he owned the place. He'd been her only company lately, aside from her vodka and late-night television. Buster jumped onto the lounge chair beside her, demanding attention with a demanding meow.

"You too, huh?" she murmured, scratching behind his ears. "Everyone wants something."

Margaret thought about the palm reading she'd gotten on a whim during that disastrous bachelorette weekend in Miami. The psychic had grabbed her hand, traced the lines on her palm, and whispered: 'You will lose something you thought was permanent, but you'll find something real.' At the time, flushed with mojitos and wedding bliss, she'd laughed it off.

Now she sat here in her silk robe, forty-two years old, her marriage dissolved like sugar in hot water. The pool's surface reflected the moon—a perfect, unmoving mirror she couldn't bring herself to break.

Buster nudged her hand with his wet nose. Margaret realized she was crying, silent tears cutting tracks through her evening cream. She'd spent so long trying to be perfect—the perfect wife, the perfect hostess, the perfect everything—that she'd forgotten how to just exist.

The vitamin pill sat heavy in her palm. Somewhere in its chemical composition was the promise of stronger bones, better health, something to build on. But right now, all she wanted was to sink into that water, let it wash away the makeup and the expectations and the carefully curated version of herself she'd been performing for twenty years.

Instead, she leaned down and touched the pool's surface with her fingertips. Ripples disrupted the perfection, distorting the moon's reflection into something broken and beautiful.

Buster purred loudly, the vibration traveling up her arm. Margaret watched the ripples expand, swallowing the reflection whole, and for the first time in months, she didn't feel like she was drowning.