I did not plan to break.

I had believed I could navigate any storm. But the morning light was sharper than I expected. It cut through every corner of the loft, illuminating the rough edges I had tried so hard to hide. It found the tremors in my hands as I wrapped my fingers around my coffee mug. I had not slept enough for determination to smooth the weight of fatigue. Every decision from the last week pressed heavier than the one before.

At my desk, I stared at the silence as though it were ...