train stations

x.

"I like your bracelet," Melanie said, gently pulling her from her hazy thoughts.

"Oh," she looked down at it and ran her fingertips across the silver charms. "Thank you."

"Where'd you get it?"

"It was a gift," she said and swallowed nothing. "From my husband. Well, before we were married. I'm not really sure where he got it."

"It's very pretty," she leaned in closer to study it. "I like the charms a lot."

She couldn't think of anything to say, so she just stared down at her hand.

"Are you alright?" she was looking at her with those dark eyes again. It grounded her back to the earth, tethering her with reality, like swaddling a baby.

"Yeah," she said, tearing her eyes away from Melanie. She couldn't let herself feel that calmness, that safety that she could never feel with her husband. She felt the dangling charms, heaviness stuck in her throat, a sinking feeling in her chest. "I'm just tired, still, I think."

Why must you haunt me?

"Did you try the coffee?"

She swallowed some of the darkness, now cold, and grimaced. Her stomach lurched. "I'd rather not," she whispered, setting it down.

"Maybe you should rest," Melanie's voice was gentle, like a song. It made her want to sleep. If she sung her a lullaby, she would never wake again.

"Maybe later," she said. "I think I just need to wait until tonight."

She unclasped the bracelet and slipped it off.