Water Walking

The corporate retreat's pool shimmered like a promise Marcus couldn't keep. He stood at the edge, iPhone clutched in his hand like a lifeline, watching his colleagues float in the chemically-blue water. They looked like zombies—pale, listless, moving through motions they'd performed a hundred times before.

Sarah's email had arrived two hours ago. I can't do this anymore. The marriage, the pretense, none of it. His thumb hovered over her contact, but he couldn't bring himself to call. What would he say? That he'd become a stranger in his own life, moving through days with the automated precision of the code he wrote?

"Marcus!" Greg from accounting called, raising a plastic cup. "Get in! The water's perfect!"

Marcus forced a smile and stepped into the pool. The water closed around him like amnesia. He submerged completely, holding his breath as the world blurred into silence. For a moment, he considered staying under—letting the water take him like it took everything else.

But then his iPhone buzzed against the side of the pool. A lifeline, or perhaps an anchor.

He surfaced, gasping, to find Greg standing over him. "You okay, man? You were under for a while."

Marcus nodded, water streaming from his hair. "Just thinking."

"About?"

"About how we're all just walking dead pretending to be alive."

Greg laughed, but there was understanding in his eyes. "Welcome to the club, brother. Now drink this." He pressed a cup into Marcus's hand. "And call your wife. I saw you looking at your phone like it holds all your secrets."

Marcus stared at him, then at his iPhone on the concrete. He climbed out of the pool, water dripping from his skin, and dialed Sarah's number. This time, he wouldn't be a zombie. This time, he would feel everything.