Three Seconds of Gold

The apartment complex pool was empty at 2 AM, which was exactly how Mara liked it. She floated on her back, the water cradling her like a second womb, while lightning fractued the sky above in silent flashes. The storm was still miles away, but the air already tasted of ozone and inevitability.

You're going to catch cold, came a voice from the edge.

Mara didn't turn. She knew that voice. Had known it for three years, through an apartment wall thin enough to transmit arguments, sex, the terrible purring of a depressed cat.

I'm fine, David. Go back to Sarah.

Sarah's asleep. I'm not.

A splash. He was in the water with her, treading water in the dark pool. They were like two goldfish in a bowl, Mara thought bitterly—swimming in circles, forgetting everything every three seconds, bumping into glass they pretended was ocean.

Why did you come tonight? she asked.

The riddle. You want me to solve it.

There is no riddle.

You are the sphinx, Mara. You've always been the sphinx. Guarding the bridge, eating anyone who can't answer the question.

What question?

What happens next.

Lightning struck closer now, illuminating his face—he looked older than she remembered, or maybe just tired. The water between them felt charged, electric with everything they hadn't said.

I read something today, Mara said quietly. About goldfish. The three-second memory thing? It's a myth. They remember for months. They recognize faces. They learn tricks.

So?

So we've been lying to ourselves. Blaming biology for what's actually choice. We don't forget because we can't remember. We forget because it's easier than staying.

The storm broke. Rainsheeted down, blurring the surface of the pool, until she couldn't tell where water ended and air began. David swam to her through the sudden chaos, his hands finding her waist in the dark.

I don't want to forget anymore, he said.

Mara looked up at the lightning, at the sky tearing itself open, and realized she'd been waiting three years for someone to finally answer the sphinx correctly.

Then don't, she said, and pulled him under.