What We Keep in Water

The goldfish had been floating sideways for three days. Elena watched it from the armchair where she'd been sleeping since Mark moved out, a glass of wine on the floor beside her. The fish belonged to their daughter, currently with Mark's sister in Connecticut, and Elena had sworn she'd keep it alive. But neglect, she was learning, came naturally now.

Outside, something moved across the patio—a fox, its rust-colored coat catching the last light of evening. Elena had seen it three times this week. It moved with that careful, predatory grace, stopping to look at her through the glass door. There was something knowing in its eyes, something that made her want to open the door and beg it to come inside, to tear through the quiet that had settled over her life like dust.

She ran her fingers through her hair—God, she needed to cut it. Mark had always loved it long. He'd wrap it around his fist when they kissed, call her his mermaid. The memory hit her with such force that she set down the wine glass and stood, crossing to the bathroom mirror. The woman staring back looked like a stranger: eyes rimmed red from crying, skin pale, hair tangled and wild. She looked, she realized, like someone who'd been pulled under and hadn't quite found the surface again.

"You don't get to disappear," she told her reflection. Her voice sounded rusty.

The fox was still outside, watching. Elena opened the door just a crack. "Go on," she whispered. "Before it's dark."

The fox dipped its head once, almost like acknowledgment, then vanished into the shadows of the garden.

Elena returned to the fish tank. The goldfish was still, its orange scales dull in the artificial light. She flushed it down the toilet, watching it spiral away. Then she called the salon. "I need an appointment. Tomorrow morning. As short as you can cut it."

That night, she dreamt of swimming—of pulling herself through dark water toward something that shimmered just out of reach. When she woke, the house was still empty, but for the first time in weeks, she didn't wish otherwise.