The Pyramid of Empty Things

Emma stood at the edge of the infinity pool, martini in hand, watching the sunset bleed across the desert horizon. Below, the corporate retreat sprawled like a pyramid scheme made concrete — all sharp angles and desperate ambition. She felt like a zombie moving through her own life, hollowed out by quarterly targets and the relentless climb up that gleaming glass pyramid they called headquarters.

'You're doing it again,' Marco said, appearing beside her. 'That thing where you leave your body and go somewhere else.'

She turned to look at him — really look — and felt the familiar pang of guilt mixed with exhaustion. They'd come to this luxury resort to reconnect, but instead they were both just waiting for the other shoe to drop. The upcoming merger meant one of them would be redundant by Christmas. Neither wanted to say it aloud.

'Tomorrow's padel tournament,' he said, changing the subject with practiced ease. 'You should partner with Jensen from Marketing. He's been asking about you.'

Emma laughed, bitter and sharp. 'So now you're pimping me out to save your own position? That's new.'

A rust-orange cat wound around her ankles, purring like a small engine. It was the resort's stray, fed by staff and ignored by guests like herself — too pristine to touch something so perfectly alive. Emma crouched down, letting the cat butt its head against her palm. For a moment, something real cut through the fog.

'I'm tired,' she whispered to the cat. 'I'm so fucking tired of pretending any of this matters.'

Marco's phone chimed — that notification sound that meant crisis, that meant someone somewhere needed something from them right now. He glanced at it, then at her, something like recognition dawning in his eyes.

'Let them find their own zombie,' he said, tossing his phone onto the lounge chair. 'Let's go for a swim.'

The water was cold against her skin, shocking her back into her body. Marco's hand found hers in the dark, and for the first time in months, they didn't let go. The cat watched from the edge of the pool, tail twitching, as they finally remembered how to be alive together.